It is produced in the fruits through the process of fermentation, where microorganisms turn sugars into alcohol. The study focused on 21 species of fruit from 2 different chimp sites, Ngogo in Uganda and Taï in the Ivory Coast. “Chimpanzees consume a similar amount of alcohol to what we might if we ate fermented food daily,” Maro said. But he says it’s also possible that sharing alcoholic fruit plays a social role among primates like it does in humans. “It just points to the need for additional federal funding for research into alcohol attraction and abuse by modern humans,” says Dudley.