# Are humans the only animals that eat chiles? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 5, 2004, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-humans-the-only-animals-that-eat-chiles/238400 "2004-04-05T18:19:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-humans-the-only-animals-that-eat-chiles/238400/1 "2004-04-05T18:19:19Z")
Chiles come in all degrees of hotness. Some we eat whole (like bell peppers) and others we use just for flavorings (like jalepenos). Sometimes we eat a meal full of chiles because we enjoy spiciness. But are there other animals who also eat chiles? I’ve never seen it other than maybe a rabbit eating a bell pepper. Are there animals that eat the really hot peppers like jalepenos, serranos, thai peppers, etc? ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-humans-the-only-animals-that-eat-chiles/238400/2 "2004-04-05T18:23:10Z")
Birds eat them. They’re not affected by the heat. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-humans-the-only-animals-that-eat-chiles/238400/3 "2004-04-05T20:03:17Z")
See my Staff Report (my first one actually, as a Guest Contributor): [Are birds immune to hot pepper, enabling them to eat vast amounts and spread the seeds?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mchili.html) In short, chilies are hot to prevent them from being eaten by mammals. Birds are immune to them, and spread the seeds. Green or sweet peppers have been bred to lack the hot element and are edible to mammals. Colibri/George SD Science Advisory Board ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-humans-the-only-animals-that-eat-chiles/238400/4 "2004-04-05T20:06:40Z")
> [@JuanitaTech](#): > > Birds eat them. They’re not affected by the heat. Are you sure about that? I saw an especially hot jalapeno fed to a crow once, and the crow did an interesting thing within a couple of seconds - it shuddered all over, hunched down, fluffed its feathers, then took off cawing madly the whole time. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![netscape\_6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8c91f0/32.png) [@netscape\_6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/netscape_6)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-humans-the-only-animals-that-eat-chiles/238400/5 "2004-04-06T04:20:37Z")
> [@JuanitaTech](#): > > Birds eat them. They’re not affected by the heat. With proper exposure eventially you can too! ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-humans-the-only-animals-that-eat-chiles/238400/6 "2004-04-06T04:24:11Z")
I’ve heard of hot sauce being used as an additive to birdseed to keep squirrels from eating it. I have no idea how well it works, though. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-humans-the-only-animals-that-eat-chiles/238400/7 "2004-04-06T04:25:08Z")
My crazy dog doesn’t eat them per se, but he sure chews them up real good. He gets into our habanero plant and picks peppers and chews them up. After the first one, I expected that he wouldn’t do it again, but he did. We had to move the plant out of his reach. ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-humans-the-only-animals-that-eat-chiles/238400/8 "2004-04-06T04:38:52Z")
> [@JuanitaTech](#): > > Birds eat them. They’re not affected by the heat. Hmm… so it was wrong for me to snicker malevolently when I watched the neighborhood crows eat a bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos someone dropped and imagined the cloacal torture they would soon be experiencing? Damn. ---
**Author:** ![jkusters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/fbc32d/32.png) [@jkusters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jkusters)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-humans-the-only-animals-that-eat-chiles/238400/9 "2004-04-06T04:53:13Z")
A couple of years ago, we planted a bunch of pepper plants in the hopes of growing peppers for home-made salsa. I don’t know what it was, but some critter in the neighborhood really enjoyed helping themselves to them. JOhn. ---
**Author:** ![Squee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@Squee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squee)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-humans-the-only-animals-that-eat-chiles/238400/10 "2004-04-06T05:07:06Z")
Gophers love em too… at least at the root level. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-humans-the-only-animals-that-eat-chiles/238400/11 "2004-04-06T05:35:11Z")
Folklore says that hot peppers are fed to guard dogs and fighting dogs, to make them mean. I suspect it’s not true. It doesn’t work for humans. Hot sauce is often recommended as a repellent to keep pets from chewing wires and furniture legs. It usually works, but there’s the occasional Cajun Terrier or Thai cat that loves it. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-humans-the-only-animals-that-eat-chiles/238400/12 "2004-04-06T05:53:03Z")
I had a problem with these little tiny spec size ants in my sink. I know, gross, but here’s the deal. After a Mexican meal, I had a few peppers left over, and they stayed in the sink drain. No more ants, seems at least this type of ant doesn’t care for hot peppers. ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-humans-the-only-animals-that-eat-chiles/238400/13 "2004-04-06T05:53:45Z")
My dog has eaten jalapeños on several occasions, of his own volition. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-humans-the-only-animals-that-eat-chiles/238400/14 "2004-04-06T14:53:00Z")
> [@waterj2](#): > > I’ve heard of hot sauce being used as an additive to birdseed to keep squirrels from eating it. I have no idea how well it works, though. [Squirrel Proof Wild Bird Seed](http://www.squirrelproof.ca/) is one example. I believe they usually use either a chili powder or a capsaicin additive, rather than hot sauce per se. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-humans-the-only-animals-that-eat-chiles/238400/15 "2004-04-06T15:48:32Z")
From **Colibri** ’s article: > [@](#): > > A contrasting case is methyl anthranilate, grape flavoring, which is aversive to birds but not to mammals. Interesting. Is there some advantage to the grape to attract mammals while being repulsive to birds? ---
**Author:** ![quothz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/da6949/32.png) [@quothz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quothz)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-humans-the-only-animals-that-eat-chiles/238400/16 "2004-04-06T17:56:36Z")
> [@Una Persson](#): > > Are you sure about that? I saw an especially hot jalapeno fed to a crow once, and the crow did an interesting thing within a couple of seconds - it shuddered all over, hunched down, fluffed its feathers, then took off cawing madly the whole time. 😕 I can say from first-hand observation that chickens don’t mind jalapeno seeds at _all_. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-humans-the-only-animals-that-eat-chiles/238400/17 "2004-04-06T19:08:38Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > Interesting. Is there some advantage to the grape to attract mammals while being repulsive to birds? Actually, this strikes me as a bit odd, since I’m having trouble imaging specific reasons why grapes would “prefer” mammals (perhaps squirrels, in this case) to birds as dispersers of their seeds. The chemical apparently varies between grape species and varieties, however, being found mostly in “Concord grape” (deep purple) types. Not all grapes have it. The chemical is widely used as a chemical deterrant for birds, in particular being used to keep Canada Geese off golf courses and lawns.