BOOZING BATS

Who would have ever thought that bats could hold their liquor? Apparently, they have quite a high tolerance for alcoholic beverages. According to a study conducted by Dana Orbach while working on her Master’s thesis in biology at the University of Western Ontario, fruit-eating bats living in the tropics can slurp significant amounts of alcohol without appearing drunk. “We found that pound for pound, bats can drink humans under the table,” said Orbach, who fed fruit bats alcohol and then had them fly through an obstacle course in the dark. In fact, bats with a blood alcohol level of .11 grams per 1OOml of blood – .O3 above the legal driving limit of .O8 – showed no signs of impaired coordination. Perhaps the boozing bats should be giving tips to barflies.