This Bud's for Shrew
Tuesday, 29 July 2008Tree-shrew is heavyweight boozerfrom the BBC
Nectar from the flower buds of the bertam palm is fermented to a maximum alcohol content of up to 3.8%.
Each bud is a miniature brewery, containing a yeast community that turns the nectar into a frothy beer-like beverage.
Yet the animals, which are about the size of a small rat, do not seem to get drunk at all, researchers say.