Alcohol protects animals from cold?

[steenkh]

I just read this news on BBC about the effects of the extreme cold in Russia:

One zoo near Moscow has meanwhile come up with another way of beating the cold, our correspondent says.

She says that Russian media have reported that some of the monkey will be given wine three times a day for protection against the elements.

A performing lion is already being rubbed all over in brandy to cure a case of pneumonia, reports say.

Can this really be true? I would have thought that the monkeys might not feel so cold when they drink wine, but they would definitely not be protected against the cold?

And can you cure pneumonia by rubbing with brandy??

 

[Ziggurat]

Can this really be true? I would have thought that the monkeys might not feel so cold when they drink wine, but they would definitely not be protected against the cold?

And can you cure pneumonia by rubbing with brandy??

My guess is the alcohol isn't actually going anywhere near the animals, and that this is just a ploy to charge lots of liquor to the zoo expense account. What, me cynical?

 

[Dave_46]

Working entirely from memory here. I heard From Our Own Correspondent on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday I think. There was an item about the cold weather from the Moscow correspondent. The reference she made to alchohol and animals was to a rumour she had heard that the elephants in the zoo were being given vodka. It was reported as rumour, not fact. It sounds as if there are various rumours about alchohol, so perhaps ziggurat is right.

One thing she did report that sounded ok was that they had moved the polar bears indoors to shelter from the cold.

Dave

 

[Red Siegfried]

Alcohol consumption increases susceptibility to cold injury by blunting shivering and accelerating heat loss. Alcohol use leads to dehydration. Alcohol numbs the senses and impairs judgement, so someone might not feel the signs and symptoms of developing cold injury.

It might give an immediate sensation of warmth, but this is because the alcohol dilates your small blood vessels. This allows the warm blood to get closer to the surface of the skin. Unfortunately this also means that the blood gets cooler, and therefore, ultimately alcohol cools you down.

This is true for people. I guess it's true for animals too ... ?

 

[Amapola]

This sounds a little out there to me. I have had to treat animals for pneumonia before and believe me, I did not use brandy. Instead I used penicillin. (What a concept.) How on earth could rubbing brandy on the outside of the body kill the organisms that are responsible for pneumonia??? And of course lions are covered in hair. That would take a LOT of brandy.

As far as the monkeys go, I wonder if they would even drink wine. Many times animals show a lot better sense about eating and drinking than humans, but I suppose they could have been accustomed to it somehow. I've had people try to feed my goats all kinds of goofy things, like cheetos and donuts. (That stuff is not even good for people, why would you think it would be good for a goat?? ) The goats always turned up their noses. Most animals are a lot more picky than people who do not have animals realize. Naturally you have some who will eat odd things, but for the most part they seem to stick with what is actually good for them.

 

[rwguinn]

This sounds a little out there to me. I have had to treat animals for pneumonia before and believe me, I did not use brandy. Instead I used penicillin. (What a concept.) How on earth could rubbing brandy on the outside of the body kill the organisms that are responsible for pneumonia??? And of course lions are covered in hair. That would take a LOT of brandy.

erm...I think it is meant to be taken internally. Alcohol rubbed on externally has a chilling effect!

As far as the monkeys go, I wonder if they would even drink wine. Many times animals show a lot better sense about eating and drinking than humans, but I suppose they could have been accustomed to it somehow. I've had people try to feed my goats all kinds of goofy things, like cheetos and donuts. (That stuff is not even good for people, why would you think it would be good for a goat?? ) The goats always turned up their noses. Most animals are a lot more picky than people who do not have animals realize. Naturally you have some who will eat odd things, but for the most part they seem to stick with what is actually good for them.

especially the latter--I had a retriever who would ignore all alcoholic beverages--except single-malt Scotch, which he went nuts over!...Great retriever, would even apologize to (or criticise) the duck hunter who only wounded a duck buy climbing into his lap after a failed water retrieve...

 

[Amapola]

erm...I think it is meant to be taken internally. Alcohol rubbed on externally has a chilling effect!

The OP says

A performing lion is already being rubbed all over in brandy to cure a case of pneumonia, reports say.

so it sounded like they were rubbing it on the outside of the body. Maybe that is some kind of expression I never heard of, calling it "rubbed all over" when they actually meant "imbibed". Whatever they meant, I agree that rubbing it on the body would not be effective! It would not be effective if taken internally, either. At least, not for curing pneumonia!

That is funny about the dog. Pretty smart dog to know who was responsible!