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[gregory nahas <lettherebemonkeys AT yahoo.com>]

Source: New York Post, Thurs., March 7, 2002, Pg. 6

Drunk Monkeys Are Party Animals

We all know excessive boozing can make a monkey out of
you-and now scientists know why.
It turns out that, like us, monkeys acquire a taste
for alcohol and behave similarly when under the
influence.
Researchers at McGill University in Montreal fed
alcohol to 1,000 green vervet monkeys and discovered
that they fell into four categories: binge drinker,
steady drinker, social drinker and teetotaler.  Most
were social drinkers who indulged in moderation and
only with other monkeys-but never before lunch.
Fifteen percent drink regularly and heavily.  Another
fifteen percent drink little or no alcohol.  Five
percent were classified as "seriously abusive binge
drinkers."
"The parallels between the vervets' behavior and human
behavior are striking," said Frank Ervin, who led the
study.  "A cage full of drunken monkeys is like a
cocktail party.  You have one who gets aggressive, one
who gets sexy, one who thinks everything is funny and
one who gets really grumpy.  The binge drinkers gulp
down the alcohol at a very fast rate and pass out on
the floor.  The next day they do it all over again."

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