APES MAY USE RECREATIONAL DRUGS

Research carried out by Professor Michael Huffman from the Primate Research Institute at Kyoto University, and Don Cousins, author of "The Magnificent Gorilla." found African apes eat the seeds of Kola trees which contain caffeine and theobromine, which help prevent fatigue.

They also found gorillas in Equatorial Guinea and chimpanzees in the Republic of Guinea eat two hallucinogenic plants.

One of the plants, a floribunda, is used by cults because the root is believed to be an aphrodisiac. It's said to provide a state of intense excitement followed by a deep, sometimes fatal depression.

Professor Huffman says people have watched the animals go into "a frenzy of fear" after eating the roots, as if they are being chased by invisible objects.

It's reported the apes even go through detox, using the root of the Tabernanthe iboga plant.

The findings are reported in the African Study Monographs.