Sunday December 26, 2010
Wildlife:
Drug-Using Animals
It may come as a surprise to learn that animals in the wild make use of psychoactive substances just like humans.
Many recreational drugs may in fact have been discovered by observing the behaviour of animals.
From PJ Online:
On the prairies of the south-west US, horses and other grazing mammals can become addicted to hallucinogen-containing plants known generically as locoweed. These plants, mainly species of Astragalus and Oxytropis, are normally avoided, but animals that try them can come back time and again for a repeat fix. Symptoms include altered gait, aimless wandering, impaired vision, erratic behaviour and listlessness.
In South America’s rain forests, jaguars have been filmed behaving in a kittenish manner after gnawing the bitter roots and bark of yage (Banisteriopsis caapi), a hallucinogenic vine that is also used by native tribes in ritualistic ceremonies. Some anthropologists believe that man first learnt to use the drug after watching jaguars
Posted in: Science by bubblejam at 11:31 PM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry