The nature documentary experts at the BBC already showed in January 2014 how dolphins use pufferfish to get themselves high. Now the British public broadcaster is surprising viewers with new footage from the animal drug scene. The trailer for the documentary Spy in the Wild: Episode 4 shows lemurs in the rainforests of Madagascar getting intoxicated with a species of millipede.
When threatened, the insects secrete a defensive substance that contains, among other things, alkaloids, phenols, and hydrogen cyanide. The lemurs rub themselves with it. This not only keeps insects away, but apparently also induces altered states of consciousness in the animals. The millipedes are not killed in the process; they are merely bitten to achieve the desired effect.