This is what bored apes do to catch a buzz: new study
In the animal kingdom, wild tales of inebriation and altered states of consciousness are rampant.
Dolphins get a buzz from the toxins in blowfish, reindeer “fly” on magic mushrooms, and monkeys, raccoons and possums love a stiff drink.
Researchers now believe that apes — gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans — like to spin around on vines or ropes to induce a dizzy altered state.
By analyzing dozens of videos on YouTube showing apes spinning, scientists from the UK’s University of Warwick and the University of Birmingham found that the speed with which the apes spun would give the animals a brief high. The apes often lost their balance and fell over after spinning.
“Spinning alters our state of consciousness,” Dr. Adriano Lameira, associate professor of psychology at the University of Warwick, explained in a news release. “It messes up with our body-mind responsiveness and coordination, which make us feel sick, lightheaded and even elated as in the case of children playing in merry-go-rounds, spinner-wheels and carousels.”
The videos showed that the habit of spinning wasn’t limited to apes in captivity — apes in the wild also engaged in the practice — though it was seen more often in captivity, perhaps due to boredom and a lack of mental stimulation. Other primates, including gibbons and monkeys, also like a good spin.
The researchers compare the spinning and the sensations it creates to certain ancient religious practices and “transcendent experiences in humans,” such as Sufi Dervishes, who spin rapidly to achieve a meditative state of mind.
The authors of the study, published in the journal Primates, believe there may be a link between spinning behavior and mental health, in animals as well as humans.
“There are some interesting parallels that should be investigated further, in order to understand why people are motivated to engage in these behaviors,” Dr. Lameira said. “It could very well be that we have been seeking and engaging in mind-altering experiences before we were even modern humans.”
Scientists from Australia have watched dolphins holding blowfish in their mouths,
possibly to get the numbing effects caused by the tetrodotoxin that’s found in the fish’s
internal organs. Oddly, they then pass the blowfish on to other dolphins in their pod —
reminding observers of how a group of partiers will “puff and pass” a marijuana joint.
And while countless animals seek out fermented fruit to enjoy the boozy sweetness,
reindeer take it to a psychedelic extreme by eating Amanita muscaria mushrooms, which contain the hallucinogens muscimol and ibotenic acid. Shamans in northern
Europe used the red and white mushrooms in ceremonies, leading some to believe that
beloved Christmas traditions (such as flying reindeer and men wearing red and white
costumes) may have unexpected origins.