Monday, May 22, 2006

they are our closest living relatives, after all

Posted on CNN this afternoon:

Wine keeps Hungarian apes feeling fine

BUDAPEST, Hungary (Reuters) -- Monkeys and apes at the Budapest Zoo drink their way through 55 liters of red wine each year, albeit in small quantities each day, to help boost their red blood cells, the zoo said Monday.

Budapest Zoo spokesman Zoltan Hanga said it was the 11 anthropoid apes who drank most of the wine in 2005.

"Obviously, they do not have it all at once and get drunk, but they get it in small amounts mixed in their tea," Hanga said.

"And it's not Eger Bull's Blood or some expensive wine that they are getting but simple table wine, as it's mainly good for their blood cells."

Bull's Blood from the town of Eger in northeast Hungary became one of Eastern Europe's best-known wines under communism.
Now, if only we can get some primates who thrive on a steady diet of vodka gimlets and ill-advised drama, I can completely justify the last six years as being in the best interest of my long-term health.

1 comment:

DC Cookie said...

I heard the same thing about caribou and beer...