⚠️This fact has been debunked
This is completely fabricated. Spider monkeys do not consume alcoholic beverages. While they can eat bananas in captivity, bananas rank only 7th in their food preferences, and there's no evidence of any primate species voluntarily consuming mixed alcoholic drinks.
Do Spider Monkeys Really Like Banana Daiquiris?
If you've heard that spider monkeys enjoy sipping banana daiquiris, we have bad news: it's completely made up. Spider monkeys don't drink alcoholic beverages of any kind, and honestly, bananas aren't even high on their list of favorite foods.
The Monkey-Cocktail Connection
The confusion likely stems from the popular cocktail culture. Drinks like "Dirty Monkey," "Funky Monkey," and "Monkey Shine Daiquiri" all feature bananas as a primary ingredient. These tropical cocktails—popular in beach destinations from Cancun to Playa del Carmen—combine rum, banana liqueur, and sometimes peanut butter for a frozen treat that humans love. But the name is just marketing.
No bartender has ever served a spider monkey.
What Spider Monkeys Actually Eat
Spider monkeys are frugivores, meaning their diet centers on fruit. In the wild, they feast on fleshy fruits, leaves, nuts, seeds, and the occasional insect or egg. They're incredibly selective eaters with sophisticated palates.
A fascinating study on captive spider monkeys revealed their actual food preferences:
- Avocado (top choice)
- Sapodilla
- Pineapple
- Mango
- Papaya
- Melon
- Banana (7th place)
- Apple, tomato, orange, carrot, cucumber (even lower)
Bananas ranked 7th out of 12 foods tested. They're acceptable, but hardly a favorite.
Why Bananas Are Actually Bad for Them
Wild spider monkeys rarely encounter bananas unless they live near a banana farm. The cultivated bananas we eat are far different from wild fruits—they're bred to be high in sugar and low in fiber and protein. For spider monkeys in captivity, a banana-heavy diet can lead to obesity, dental problems, and nutritional deficiencies.
So not only do spider monkeys not drink banana daiquiris, feeding them too many regular bananas isn't great for them either.
The Alcohol Question
As for alcohol? There's no evidence that spider monkeys—or any primate species—voluntarily consume mixed alcoholic drinks. While some animals in nature do consume fermented fruits containing trace amounts of alcohol, deliberately drinking cocktails is purely a human activity.
The image of a spider monkey with a tiny umbrella drink is cute, but it belongs firmly in the realm of cartoons and tiki bar décor, not wildlife biology.