Study with aye-ayes and slow loris finds that prosimians prefer alcohol
Alcohol is widespread in nature, existing in fermented nectars, saps and fruits. It is therefore a natural part of many primate diets, and it follows that primates have evolved to digest alcohol quickly to minimize toxic effects. But given that alcohol is also a source of calories, it is plausible that alcohol is attractive to some primates, including, hypothetically, our human ancestors. In fact, previous research found that humans and African great apes have a genetic mutation that radically accelerates alcohol digestion. However, this mutation is also shared with the aye-aye, one of the oddest animals on Earth. The question, then, is whether aye-ayes are attracted to alcohol. In the first controlled study of its kind, Dartmouth researchers found that two aye-ayes and another prosimian primate (a slow loris) could discriminate different concentrations of alcohol, and further, that each species preferred the highest concentrations of alcohol available to them. The...