There are countless anecdotes involving animals and substances that have a hallucinogenic, intoxicating or sedative effect
Animals are similar to us in many ways, including when it comes to consuming toxic substances. Many species seek out the sensation of being intoxicated or the "high" provided by certain fruits or plants that they find in their natural environment. With "Cocaine Bear" proving a hit in cinemas, we take a look at some of the animals that like to get buzzed.
This feature film, directed by Elizabeth Banks, was inspired by a surprising real-life incident that occurred in the United States in 1985. At that time, the body of a drug dealer was found in Tennessee, along with 4,500 dollars in cash, two firearms, several knives and a key to an airplane. The key matched an aircraft that had crashed in the mountains of North Carolina with ten duffel bags full of cocaine on board. However, investigators were only able to find nine of them. Three months later, the missing bag was found in the Chattahoochee National Forest, south of the Tennessee-Georgia border. It had been emptied of some of its contents by a brown bear. This bear died of an overdose. An autopsy of the animal later revealed that it had ingested three or four grams of cocaine. By accident or did it get a taste for it? The answer to that question remains a mystery.