You have ever heard of Cocaine Bear, the Georgia black bear who overdosed on cocaine fell from a smuggler’s overloaded Cessna plane. But have you ever heard of Beer Bear?
In 2004, a curious bear raided a camper’s cooler at Baker Lake Resort in Washington state and got away with about three dozen beers, including Rainier Beer and Busch (which he avoided ). While Rainier suffers from a “mediocre” score at BeerAdvocate.com, the bear drank the grainy beer until it reached an altered state and lay down on a resort lawn to soak up the sun. State Department of Fish and Wildlife officers found the bear in the middle of a pile of perforated voids.
Instead of popping the cans, the bear apparently downed the beers by slicing them with its claws and guiding the Rainier into its mouth. When confronted, the bear climbed into a nearby tree and slept for around four hours before later running away. But he returned the next day, so wildlife officials lured him into a humane trap baited with “donuts, honey, and in this case, two open boxes of Rainier,” according BNC News.
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Wild animals and drugs
Experts have wondered if large animals, such as moose and elephants, can even get drunk, especially on fermented apples and marula fruit, given their large size. But black bears weigh between 90 and 500 pounds, about twice the size of humans. And the clawed Rainiers had seemed to have an effect.
Stories of animals, and even insects, searching for mind-altering substances are legion. In Australia, local authorities have a problem with little wallabies feeding in “poppy fields, swooping like a kite and circling”. according to a farmerwho says capricious sheep would do the same, in an article with BBC.
Domestic cats graze on catnip and big horn sheep are said to nibble on psychedelic lichen. young dolphins may or may not be stoned on pufferfish venom.
Many researchers have served alcohol to bees, which readily drink pure ethanol and have become A model for human alcoholism. Always, other researchers provided alcohol to vervet monkeys and found that if they drank willingly, the younger ones drank more than the older ones, perhaps so the latter could keep their wits about them.
Cocaine Bear and the effects
But are these bees and bears having fun? Most likely, Cocaine Bear died a gruesome death after consuming a massive amount of the smelly powder, which he may have mistaken for food.
The Kentucky for Kentucky Fun Mall, which has the Cocaine teddy bear, found the medical examiner who examined him, and he said the bear had suffered, “cerebral hemorrhage, respiratory failure, hyperthermia, kidney failure, heart failure, stroke. You name; this bear had it.
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The impact can be devastating, and research has shown that animals, especially rats, can even become addicted to cocaine. A study found that animals sometimes refuse to eat in favor of more drugs and walking on electrified floors. Another investigation concluded that cocaine may act in part by activating a stimulating inflammatory response in the brain.
Ultimately, however, experts don’t know why the wild animals got drunk or angry.
Similar confusion surrounds the use of catnip, which can lead to aggressive or erratic behavior in cats. Some wonder if cats choose the experience or are simply “dosed” by their owners.
“Whether it’s unethical to drug a child and laugh at their reaction,” writes a columnist T-shapedhe conversation“should we unconsciously do the same with our cats?”