Macaque on a Drinking Spree Hits Pubs in India; Scientists Say, "Not the First Time"

In India, several pubs were visited by a macaque rhesus monkey who was on a drinking spree. Scientists claim that this is not the first instance of monkeys being observed drinking.

The ape has been observed stealing and downing alcohol bottles in Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh. According to reports, the monkey has stolen bottles from both locals and shops.

The Rhesus macaque monkey is indigenous to India and is found there in large numbers. The monkey-human conflict has gotten worse in recent years as populations have grown.

93% of the DNA between macaque monkeys and people.

Anurag Mishra shared a video of a monkey consuming beer from a can on Twitter.

Alcoholic Macaque Monkeys

Anindya Sinha, a primatologist as well as a professor from the National Institute of Advanced Studies in India, said that alcohol consumption by macaques has been documented previously.

Sinha said that it has also been shown in the lab that macaques can consume alcohol chronically over extended periods. Additionally, there are some credible, though unpublished, reports of rhesus and bonnet macaques from northern and southern India, respectively, consuming alcohol on occasion, if they had the opportunity to do so from sources that were unintentionally made available to them.

The actions of the monkey have had a particularly negative impact on a store owner who operates a liquor store in the neighborhood. The shopkeeper claimed that if people try to shoo the monkey away, it will bite.

The news outlet was informed by other store owners in the area that they had reported the issue to the authorities but that nothing had been done as of yet.

According to NDTV, district officers and the Forest Department are searching for the monkey.

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Monkeys Enjoy

However, Iqbal Malik, a primatologist, told Newsweek that typically, none of these circumstances arise on their own. Malik claimed that she was shocked to see monkeys seated outside a liquor store in the middle of the city. She learned that people are the ones who start giving monkeys their drinks. The monkeys soon begin to enjoy it. They experience a slightly high, but nothing harmful.

Malik claimed that she had previously investigated whether monkeys favor eating human food. The monkeys typically only consume plants and sporadically insects.

After a sniff, she discovered that the monkeys rejected non-vegetarian patties. They appear to be enjoying their drink, though.

According to Discover Wildlife, chimpanzees are reputed to raid villager-brewed palm wine inventories, and Caribbean vervet monkeys are notorious for robbing bars of their liquor.

Macaques

According to National Geographic, Rhesus macaque monkeys are familiar brown primates that have red faces and rears. Their faces are extremely expressive, which is emphasized by the close-cropped hair on their heads.

When resources are scarce, macaque monkeys can be problematic for people. Monkeys may stray into towns in search of water and food as their habitat gets smaller.

In the past, monkeys have also shown aggressive tendencies toward young people, but this typically only happens when they are provoked or under stress, Newsweek reports.

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