<
https://theconversation.com/inside-the-chimpanzee-medicine-cabinet-weve-found-a-new-way-chimps-treat-wounds-with-plants-258094>
"As it turns out, chimpanzees make pretty good doctors. For decades, scientists
have been studying what chimpanzees do when they fall ill. This search has led
to the identification of medicinal behaviour, which often involves the
ingestion of plants with chemical or physical properties that can help the
animal’s recovery.
My team’s recent study in the Budongo Forest of western Uganda found its
chimpanzees show a range of healthcare behaviour – one of which, applying
chewed botanical material to wounds, had never before been documented in
chimpanzees.
Previous studies have shown that wild chimpanzees appear to treat their wounds
and maintain sexual hygiene using medicinal plants found in their environment.
What’s more, they treat other group members, even ones who are unrelated to
them.
In 2022, a study in Gabon, west Africa found that wild chimpanzees catch and
apply insects to their wounds as well as the wounds of non-kin community
members. A previous study had reported that chimpanzees in the Kibale Forest of
Uganda occasionally dab the wounds of unrelated group members with leaves.
Now our research, published in
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, shows the
chimpanzees of the Budongo Forest engaging in topical healthcare, both on
themselves and others."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
