“Cocaine Sharks” may sound like a cheesy B-grade flick but now scientists may have found the real thing. They found traces of the drug in the muscles and livers of thirteen sharpnose sharks captured in coastal waters near Rio de Janeiro. 

A previous study found that the sea around Rio is contaminated with waste from illegal labs and untreated sewage laced with pharmaceuticals.

This is like the tragic story of Cocaine Bear, who, sometime in 1985 (of course, it was the 80s), found and ingested cocaine in the forests of Georgia in the US. A medical examiner found that the 200-pound bear had died of acute cocaine intoxication after eating about three to four grams of cocaine. And unlike the 2023 comedy horror of the same name, there’s no indication that the cocaine bear went on a rampage. 

But there are animals out there that, like us, use drugs recreationally: cats and catnip, and we know why Amarula uses elephants in its advertising. 🤭 Here are a few more:

🔹 In 2019, swarms of parrots attacked poppy farms in the Madhya Pradesh state in India to feed their opium addiction. While stoned, the birds experienced disoriented flying; they crashed into objects, and the withdrawal effects may have killed some of them. Looks like Polly wanted to be a crackhead.

🔹 The black lemur, which usually eats fruits, sometimes picks up a large red millipede and bites it gently. The bug then releases toxins the lemurs use as mosquito repellent and a quick fix to get “totes wasted”. 

🔹 Magic mushrooms may be the reason Rudolph has a red nose. Reindeer in the Nordic countries love eating a psychedelic mushroom, amanita muscaria, commonly known as fly agaric. They then act drunkenly, running about aimlessly and making strange noises. 
Sounds a lot like you and your friends back in uni. 😂 We’re here for the recreationally high animals – but not the ones at risk because of humans. Let’s hope we can protect other sharks going forward.

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