Authorities in Milton, West Virginia took action after several residents reported suspected rabid raccoons in the area. As it turns out, the raccoons were not rabid, but were instead drunk on fermented crabapples.

Can animals get drunk from eating fermented fruit?

Masked Bandits

In a Facebook post, the Milton Police Department announced that it has apprehended “masked bandits” after several neighborhood residents reported what appeared to be rabid raccoons in the area. With help from the community and from the city street department, authorities were able to capture two supposedly rabid raccoons, but they found that the creatures were not rabid at all and instead appeared to be drunk, possibly on fermented crabapples.

Authorities eventually released the raccoons in the woods, but they still remind the public not to approach any staggering or disoriented raccoon as it may be sick. Instead, it would be better to call authorities to have them take care of it.

Animals And Alcohol

This is not the first time that animals were observed to appear drunk. In fact, there are online videos of animals that appear to be drunk, wherein they are seen staggering and stumbling, and even engaging in strange behavior. But does this show that they are drunk, or is it something else altogether?

Previous observations show that some animals actually enjoy drinking alcohol. In fact, male butterflies have been observed to drink beer to boost the spermatophores that they give to females as a nuptial gift, while male fruitflies that did not successfully mate have been observed to prefer food that contains alcohol.

In mammals, however, the effects could be more accidental rather than deliberate. Just like the case of the drunk raccoons in Milton, moose, deer, and squirrels that ate fermented fruit have been observed to become rather sleepy.

That said, there are animals with a high tolerance for fermented foods. For instance, the pen-tailed tree shrew of Malaysia can eat nectar from the betram palm, which has one of the highest recorded alcohol levels among natural foods, and still show no signs of intoxication. Similarly, some bats can also consume fermented fruit and still be fit to fly.