Posted on 12/02/2012 2:09:01 PM PST by nickcarraway
Birds might not be better than us after all. They have fancy hollow bones and the gift of graceful flight, but in the sense that we are all just floating around looking for fermented berries, there is existential parity.
The Veterinary Record of the British Medical Journal tells of a young bird in Cumbria, found outside of a primary school, that was visibly impaired, hobbling around. Staff at a wildlife rescue center described it as "unsteady on its feet ... [It] placed both wings on the ground to support itself and lent against the walls of the enclosure to maintain posture 'as though it was drunk.'"
Around it, twelve other blackbirds -- precisely half of four and twenty -- were found dead.
Avian pathologists disassembled the birds to see what went wrong. Inside they found rowan berries that had "a faint odor of fermentation" -- enough to smell it while dissecting dead birds, at least. A biopsy of one of their livers had an alcohol level of 430 parts per million. Levels of 238 have been implicated in fatal ethanol intoxication in the past, in two poor wild cedar waxwings.
The surviving bird made a full recovery; back to normal by the next day.
But how many more birds are out there, with lower-but-not-incidental blood alcohol levels? Flying among us. Is it possible that they intentionally seek out fermented berries? Just one more -- I'm fine. Just one more. I'm totally okay to fly, just give me five minutes to waddle around first.
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
Ever see a drunk elephant?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmQPwgV-WbQ
I’m wondering if they taste different while all of that alcohol is in their system... kinda prefer mine marinated in red vs white, but I imagine a good raspberry or blackberry frementation would give the meat a nice flavor....:)
Had a keg party back in HS when the parents were away. Put the dogs dish down next to the keg. Airedale, drank like a champ. Later on, we all started running around the back 40. I swerved to avoid a tree, Airedale crashed straight into it. That dog would never drink again. We tried, but he had taken the pledge. True story.
They sure do taste better because I can’t hit them if they aren’t drunk.
Hey squirl...you friggin lookin at me (hiccup)....you wanna piece of me you friggin rat (hiccup)!!!
Redneck birds ping!
LOLOL
;D
That’s nothing to crow about.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.