National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Photo: Boozing Mammal Drinks "Beer" Every Night, Study Finds


Email to a Friend	<< Back to Full Story

Malaysia's pen-tailed tree shrew (above) regularly drinks fermented palm "beer," which in turn helps pollinate the palms' flowers, scientists reported in July 2008.

Since the tiny mammal is related to primate ancestors, the find also suggests humans' taste for alcohol may have begun well before the believed advent of brewing about 9,000 years ago.

Photograph courtesy Annette Zitzmann