From frogs swallowing light bulbs to beetles mating with bottles, the modern world is hijacking creatures' evolved instincts. Can we turn the trap into a tool?
ON THE Caribbean island of St Kitts, a colony of exuberant vervet monkeys patrols the beach, waiting to pounce on unattended drinks. When they spot one, they scamper acrobatically across the sand to steal it. They fight. They drink. They overturn tables. Finally, as the sun slides over the horizon, they slump clumsily onto the sand.
Scientists have been studying the drunken monkeys of St Kitts for decades, using them to research the neural pathways involved in alcoholism. But they represent more than just a primate model of addiction.
According to biologist Bruce Robertson at Bard College in New York, the monkeys are caught in an "evolutionary trap". Their enjoyment of alcohol exists for a very good reason, ...
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