Dietary ethanol ingestion by free-ranging spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi)

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Paper Summary

Conflicts of Interest

Identified Weaknesses

Rating Explanation

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Paper Summary

Paperzilla title

Drunken Monkeys? Wild Spider Monkeys Consume Alcohol Naturally from Fruit

This study found that wild spider monkeys on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, consume fruits of *Spondias mombin* containing 1-2% ethanol, a byproduct of yeast fermentation. Analysis of urine samples further suggests that the monkeys metabolize this ethanol. There was no evidence that monkeys selectively avoided fruits with higher ethanol content.

Possible Conflicts of Interest

None identified

Identified Weaknesses

Inability to analyze fully consumed fruits

The study acknowledges that fully consumed fruits cannot be analyzed, limiting the ability to fully understand the impact of ethanol content on consumption.

Small sample size for urine analysis

The sample size of urine samples (n=6) is small, which limits the generalizability of the findings related to ethanol metabolite presence.

Limited scope of fruit species and location

The study focuses on a single fruit species, *Spondias mombin*, and a single location. This limits the understanding of how widespread ethanol consumption is among spider monkeys and other primates.

Rating Explanation

This study provides novel evidence of natural ethanol consumption by wild primates, adding to our understanding of primate foraging behavior and potential evolutionary implications for human alcohol consumption. While the sample sizes are small for some aspects and limited to one location/fruit species, the combined chemical analysis of fruit and urine samples makes a compelling case.

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