Animals are just like us when it comes to drugs and alcohol
There are countless anecdotes involving animals and substances that have a hallucinogenic, intoxicating or sedative effect
Animals are similar to us in many ways, including when it comes to consuming toxic substances. Many species seek out the sensation of being intoxicated or the "high" provided by certain fruits or plants that they find in their natural environment. With "Cocaine Bear" proving a hit in cinemas, we take a look at some of the animals that like to get buzzed.
This feature film, directed by Elizabeth Banks, was inspired by a surprising real-life incident that occurred in the United States in 1985. At that time, the body of a drug dealer was found in Tennessee, along with 4,500 dollars in cash, two firearms, several knives and a key to an airplane. The key matched an aircraft that had crashed in the mountains of North Carolina with ten duffel bags full of cocaine on board. However, investigators were only able to find nine of them. Three months later, the missing bag was found in the Chattahoochee National Forest, south of the Tennessee-Georgia border. It had been emptied of some of its contents by a brown bear. This bear died of an overdose. An autopsy of the animal later revealed that it had ingested three or four grams of cocaine. By accident or did it get a taste for it? The answer to that question remains a mystery.
This mishap is far from being an isolated case. There are countless anecdotes involving animals and substances that have a hallucinogenic, intoxicating or sedative effect. For example, it's common knowledge that cats love catnip for its soothing and euphoric effects. The herb is sometimes referred to as "meowie wowie," as it's compared to marijuana. Surprisingly, wildcats and big cats do not seem to be very sensitive to it. Jaguars seem to prefer banisteriopsis caapi, a species of liana endemic to the Amazon. This plant is rich in beta-carbolines, a type of alkaloid responsible for hallucinogenic effects, which explains why it is used in the composition of ayahuasca. In 2014, a jaguar was filmed while experiencing hallucinations after eating banisteriopsis caapi leaves. However, scientists do not know if the feline knowingly ingested the plant, or if it was an accident.
Each animal has its own drug preferences
Wallabies deliberately consume poppies, flowers from which opium, morphine and various painkillers are made. They are grown for legal purposes in about 20 countries, including in Australia's island state Tasmania. In 2009, Lara Giddings, then Attorney General of Tasmania, reported on the wallabies' fondness for the plant during a parliamentary hearing on its cultivation. She explained that these marsupials regularly trespass on poppy fields, much to the annoyance of farmers. "We have a problem with wallabies entering poppy fields, getting as high as a kite and going around in circles. Then they crash. We see crop circles in the poppy industry from wallabies that are high," Lara Giddings said at the time.Similar behaviors have been observed in wild bighorn sheep. Bighorn sheep have been known to veer off course and walk across dangerous mountain ridges in search of psychotropic lichen. Like many deer, reindeer are fond of hallucinogenic mushrooms, their favorite being fly agaric. They love this red magic mushroom with white spots so much that they don't hesitate to dig them up even when frozen under winter snow. After having eaten them, the reindeer demonstrate some peculiar behavior. Some have been observed running aimlessly, shaking their heads vigorously, or making noise for no reason. They sometimes break away from their herd after eating fly agaric, making them easy prey for their predators.
Last Updated :
March 10, 23 05:11:50 PM IST