Top Ten Animals that are Known to Get Drunk or High
Ha! Turns out humans aren’t the only ones who like to get blasted. This list is on animals that have been observed/documented to get drunk or high from various substances.
Monkeys are haplorhine primates, a paraphyletic group generally possessing tails and consisting of approximately 260 known living species. There are a few ways monkeys have been documented getting high or drunk. One is by passing around a millipede like a joint. The millipede secretes a toxin that they rub on their faces to ward off parasites and also to catch a buzz.
They have also been documented purposely getting drunk off fermented sugarcane.
It doesn't surprise me in the slightest that monkeys get drunk or high. I am a little surprised, however, that you can get high from a millipede.
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the brackish dolphins), and the extinct Lipotidae (baiji or Chinese... read more Although pufferfish toxin can kill, it is known to have hallucinogenic effects in small doses. Dolphins have been documented passing around a pufferfish, much like a joint, and nibbling on it to obtain the mind-altering toxin.
After "getting high," the dolphins are observed "spacing out" in a state of euphoria.
Angry drunks!
"Wild bighorn sheep in the Canadian Rockies go to great lengths to find a rare narcotic lichen that grows in green and yellow patches on uncovered rock surfaces. After scraping the rock with their teeth to remove and eat the substance, they appear ill or somewhat mad."
African elephants are elephants of the genus Loxodonta. The genus consists of two extant species: the African bush elephant, L. africana, and the smaller African forest elephant, L. cyclotis. Elephants are known to get "drunk" from fermenting fruit from Marula trees. However, scientists have concluded that the fermented fruit wouldn't be enough to get the elephants "drunk," so they believe another intoxicant is at play.
Elephants have also been documented stealing beer from human settlements.
Wallabies have been observed being "high as a kite," stumbling around and hopping in circles after feeding in local poppy fields.
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern Hemisphere and partially in the Southern Hemisphere. Bears... read more In Russia, bears have been observed removing lids from barrels of fuel (used for generators, snowmobiles, etc.) and huffing the fumes to get high. After catching their buzz, they just lie on their backs in the snow, acting all goofy and giddy.
Parrots, also known as psittacines, are birds of the roughly 393 species in 92 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. In northern Australia, parrots are known to consume fermented fruit and end up so drunk that they pass out while in flight and drop to the ground.
The reindeer, also known as the caribou in North America, is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, sub-Arctic, tundra, boreal and mountainous regions of northern Europe, Siberia and North America. This includes both sedentary and migratory populations. Have been known to consume hallucinogenic mushrooms. After consuming, they just stand there "spaced out."
The jaguar (Panthera onca) is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus Panthera native to the Americas. With a body length of up to 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) and a weight of up to 158 kg (348 lb), it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the third largest in the world. Its distinctively... read more In the Amazon, jaguars have been observed gnawing on the bark of the hallucinogenic Yage vine. After consuming it, the jaguars are known to "act very strangely."
The cat (Felis catus) is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal.It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is often referred to as the domestic cat to distinguish it from the wild members of the family. A cat can either be a house cat, a farm cat or a feral cat; the latter... read more
I think we all know this one. Cats are known to rub and chew catnip, which creates a euphoric high for them.
Cattle (Bos taurus) are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus Bos. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult males are referred to as bulls... read more
Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus Gorilla is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five subspecies. The DNA of gorillas is highly similar to that of... read more