[Animals] A study reveals that the biggest drinker in the animal kingdom

[FazzNoth]

 

University of Alaska Anchorage study reveals just how alcoholic hamsters really are Researchers at the University of Alaska Anchorage have revealed just how alcoholic hamsters really are, discovering that the little rodents regularly consume the human equivalent of a liter and a half of 95% alcohol per day.

The scientific study revealed that, given a choice between water and alcohol, hamsters would choose alcohol, regularly consuming 18 grams per kilogram of body weight each day.

The study is consistent with what experts have seen in the wild, where hamsters are known to harvest ryegrass seeds and fruit, allowing them to ferment and become alcoholic. The latest investigation revealed that, although the tiny creatures are the most alcoholic creatures in the animal kingdom, they suffer from being light due to the lack of a gene for alcohol metabolism.

The findings by researchers in Alaska follow an earlier investigation in 1960 that found hamsters drank more than their rodent comrades, consuming alcohol "straight from the pet store."

In a recent Twitter thread, a British critical care physician, Tom Lawton, discussed a conversation he had with a microbiologist, where he discovered the "hamster's prodigious capacity for alcohol."  Speaking of the amounts hamsters can consume, Lawton pointed out how the small rodents "can tolerate relative amounts that would kill a human."

Describing the study, an addiction researcher at the University of Florida, Danielle Gulick, said hamsters "drink happily" immediately after being presented with alcohol, while other rodents need to get a taste for it. The research found that, unlike other animals, hamsters not only drink alcohol, but prefer it to other beverages.

The Alaska study found that small rodents readily consume Everclear, a 190-degree grain alcohol that is up to 95 percent by volume. One theory as to why hamsters are so interested in alcohol is that they drink for calories rather than to stay hydrated.

This was apparently confirmed by Gulick, who found that feeding sucrose water to hamsters could reduce alcohol consumption, while calorie-free water had no effect.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/news-24.fr/une-etude-revele-que-le-plus-gros-buveur-du-regne-animal/amp/