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Birds, such as cedar waxes, which consume a lot of berries can get drunk when these berries start to ferment. (IStock)
Police in Gilbert, Minnesota, warn residents against a group of young residents who are unable to handle their alcohol. They drifted in the city, looking disoriented, narrowly avoiding being overturned by cars.
But these teenagers do not get drunk. Instead, it's the local bird population.
"The Gilbert Police Department has received several reports of birds that appeared to be" under the influence "flying between windows, cars and acting in a confused manner," Police Chief Ty Techar wrote in a statement. communicated. An early frost meant that the berries had fermented earlier than usual, he explained, and the birds ate and drank them.
Incidents around the city involving drunk birds seem to be more common than in previous years, Techar added, as many have not yet migrated south. "It seems that some birds are becoming a little more" intoxicated "than normal," he wrote. "Generally, the livers of young birds can not process toxins as effectively as more mature birds."
He concluded: "It is not necessary to call the police about these birds because they should sober up in a short period of time."
A number of Gilbert residents commented on the publication on Facebook and thanked the police department for explaining why the birds had acted so strangely. One woman wrote that she had recently found three dead birds on her deck, while another described having braked very hard when a bird flew directly into her windshield. "That explains why I hit 7 birds with my car this week, "commented another.
"I was going to say something. . . but I thought I was crazy !!! Wrote one resident. "It happened to me!" She added: "I know this post is a joke. . . but seriously. . . Two birds plunged into my windshield on the way to work and on the way home. . . I wondered what was happening.
Another commentator jokingly said, "There is a chance that a North MN bird will never be to the Supreme Court".
Public notice
posted by Gilbert Minnesota Police Service on Tuesday, October 2, 2018
The police press release ended with a suggestion that residents of the small town of northern Minnesota call if they saw "Angry Birds laugh and laugh uncontrollably and look happy" or "Tweety behave like if she measured 10 feet and confronted cats.
Joking aside, however, the birds can really be intoxicated by eating fermented berries. A group of California scientists who performed necropsies on several groups of cedar dragons that collided with hard surfaces found that they had all recently been overgrown with overripe berries. "Flying under the influence of ethanol" had resulted in bird deaths, they concluded in a 2012 study published in the Journal of Ornithology.
Obviously, birds can not do a breathalyzer test exactly. Matthew Dodder, a self-proclaimed "type of bird" with four decades of experience in birdwatching and who runs courses in Palo Alto, Calif., Told the Washington Post that the main gift to know if the birds are intoxicated is their maniac. behavior.
"They will fly erratically," he said. "We usually see them flying lower than usual by traffic. They are simply careless and do not look for cars or other obstacles. "
Some species of birds, such as Blackbirds, cedarers and thrushes, are the most prone to drunken antics since they eat more berries than other species such as warblers and flycatchers that feed mainly on insects. And as they prepare to fly south for the winter, they may indulge in trying to store fat for the trip, said Dodder. The birds go from bush to bush trying to find more berries, their balance gradually deteriorating.
"They just get sloppy and clumsy," said Dodder. "They actually fell trees on occasion."
In Portland, Oregon, Audubon operates what is essentially a drunken tank for birds. "We are coming to our Wildlife Conservation Center in the fall and are drinking berry fermentation," said Bob Sallinger, conservation director of Portland-based Audubon. "Sometimes they are picked up after crashing against windows. Others are simply disoriented on the ground. We will keep them in captivity until they fall, and then we will free them. "
The same is happening in the Yukon Territory, Canada, where animal welfare officials will carefully place drunken birds in small hamsters cages until they are ready to fly. again a few hours later.
As funny as it may seem, picking berries can be deadly to birds. Portland has been the scene of multiple incidents over the last decade, between 30 and 50 taps having suddenly been found dead as a result of an alleged intoxication with alcohol. In 2011, police were called to investigate the suspicious death of 12 blackbirds in a primary school in Britain. necropsy revealed that the birds had not been a victim of crime, but that they may have eaten too much fermented rowan berries.
As drunken birds also tend to break, Audubon recommends placing decals on windows and other large reflective surfaces. And if you encounter a drunken bird that survived a collision, Dodder recommends that you contact an animal rescue center or wildlife rehab.
"Sometimes they just need a little time in a quiet environment to recover," he said.
Meanwhile, in Gilbert, the police ask residents to call if they see Woodstock pushing Snoopy out of the kennel for no apparent reason, driving a carelessly unsafe Big Bird or the incoming and outgoing Roadrunner of traffic on Main Street. Or, they suggested, to any bird coming late at night to Taco Bell.
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