Forget everything you thought you knew about animals and their diets. Drunk Flies and Stoned Dolphins is a glittering voyage into a hidden world where wildlife gets tipsy and high, for reasons surprisingly just like ours! From fruit flies enjoying fermented fruit to dolphins passing around a pufferfish like a joint, Pagán ushers readers into a bizarre nature documentary filled with whimsy, wonder and unexpected science…
Pagán is a biologist with a storyteller’s heart. He draws on evolutionary biology, entomology, neurobiology and even a dash of anthropology – all while maintaining a breezy conversational tone peppered with playful dad jokes(!) Think of it as a cocktail party where animals are the guests of honour, and every story, from an elephant browsing on booze-laced marula fruit to parrots deliberately munching psychoactive berries, brings a new burst of laughter and astonishment.
What makes this book a standout isn’t just the odd behaviours, it’s how Pagán connects them to survival. Sometimes creatures self-medicate with medicinal plants; other times, they let go purely for pleasure. In each vignette, he weaves scientific insight into the narrative, making you realise that animals chasing a buzz isn’t just wild, it’s ‘evolutionary poetry’.
At 320 pages, it’s adventuresome yet finely paced, never bogged down in jargon, always tethered to real research. You’ll learn about zoopharmacognosy, neural receptors, fermented nectar and more, but it never reads like homework. It reads more like one heck of a night at your local pub… hosted by dolphins, flies, elephants and monkeys…
Beyond the fun facts lay deeper explorations: why do animals indulge in intoxicants? How does that behaviour tie into defence, mating and survival? Pagán doesn’t just ask those questions but he gives us infectious enthusiasm and the moments that make you want to leap out of your chair to share, “Did you know that…”
In short, ‘Drunk Flies and Stoned Dolphins’ is a carnival of animal antics you never knew existed, where every swing of the vine and flutter of the wing reveals the rich, surprising parallels between our world and theirs. This delightful blend of science, humour and curiosity is guaranteed to leave you both smarter and more amused…. and maybe just a little more mindful of that next cup of coffee!
From the cup of coffee that jumpstarts the day to dangerously addictive drugs, the recreational use of plants with psychoactive properties has a long history among humans.
But, as with many things, it turns out that other animals got there first.
From parrots to primates, consuming medicinal chemicals is an instinctive behavior that helps countless organisms fight infection and treat disease. But the similarities don't end there: Like us, many creatures also consume substances that have no apparent benefit . . . except for inducing intoxication. In fact, animals have been using drugs for recreational purposes since prehistoric times. We may even have animals to thank for the idea—legend says that coffee was discovered by observing the behavior of goats that had eaten it.
