The chimpanzees ate around 4.5 kilograms (10 pounds) of fruit a day. Aleksey Maro

Chimpanzees may consume the equivalent of about one alcoholic drink per day due to the ethanol contained within the fruit they eat, according to a new study.

Understanding this behavior of our closest living relatives could help explain humans’ consumption of alcohol, the report authors suggest.

Research indicating that chimpanzees also consume alcohol has long circulated around the scientific community, but this study, published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances , is the first attempt to quantify precisely how much they consume.

After observing two groups of chimpanzees, one in Ivory Coast and one in Uganda, and sampling the fruit they ate, the team of researchers estimated that the animals

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