A French person drank on average 200 liters of alcohol per year in 1960; in 2018, he drank “only” 80 liters, according to INSEE. But what about… deer? No, this question is not that crazy. In recent weeks, in Normandy, “drunk” deer have been featured in the local newspapers. In Vernon (Eure), an animal was found disoriented in a parking lot requiring the intervention of the municipal police:
In Rouen (Seine-Maritime), another was saved in the Seine by firefighters:
Actu.fr also relates astonishing “wanderings” of “drunk” deer in the Orne department.
The explanation comes from… the ingestion of the buds
The explanation, even if the animals didn’t blow into the balloon? In spring, they love the sugar from the buds. They can consume up to 2,000 per day. Problem: by fermenting in their stomach, the alkaloid substances ingested in these delicacies produce effects similar to “a state of intoxication” and deer can find themselves lost and panicked, explains 30 million friends.
“But the loss of natural landmarks is not due only to these euphoric plants,” specifies the foundation. Because in spring, young deer must also leave their mother and set out to conquer a territory and “some therefore sometimes find themselves far from their habitat, sometimes near homes. »
In addition to telling motorists to exercise caution on the roads, the foundation recommends, when faced with a panicked (or tipsy) deer, to contact the police or firefighters who will try to capture it and release it in the forest.