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https://theconversation.com/new-discovery-reveals-chimpanzees-in-uganda-use-flying-insects-to-tend-their-wounds-267301>
"Animals respond to injury in many ways. So far, evidence for animals tending
wounds with biologically active materials is rare. Yet, a recent study of an
orangutan treating a wound with a medicinal plant provides a promising lead.
Chimpanzees, for example, are known to lick their wounds and sometimes press
leaves onto them, but these behaviours are still only partly understood. We
still do not know how often these actions occur, whether they are deliberate,
or how inventive chimpanzees can be when responding to wounds.
Recent field observations in Uganda, east Africa, are now revealing intriguing
insights into how these animals cope with wounds.
As a primatologist, I am fascinated by the cognitive and social lives of
chimpanzees, and by what sickness-related behaviours can reveal about the
evolutionary origins of care and empathy in people. Chimpanzees are among our
closest living relatives, and we can learn so much about ourselves through
understanding them.
In our research based in Kibale National Park, Uganda, chimpanzees have been
seen applying insects to their own open wounds on five occasions, and in one
case to another individual.
Behaviours like insect application show that chimpanzees are not passive when
wounded. They experiment with their environment, sometimes alone and
occasionally with others. While we should not jump too quickly to call this
“medicine”, it does show that they are capable of responding to wounds in
inventive and sometimes cooperative ways.
Each new insight adds reveals more about chimpanzees, offering glimpses into
the shared evolutionary roots of our own responses to injury and caregiving
instincts."
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
