Amazing stuff!
"A research team from Osnabrück University and the Ozouga Chimpanzee Project has, for the first time, observed chimpanzees applying insects to their own wounds and the wounds of conspecifics. ...
However, despite research spanning decades from other long-term field sites in west and east Africa, external application of animal matter on open wounds has, until now, never been documented. "Our observations provide the first evidence that chimpanzees regularly capture insects and apply them onto open wounds. We now aim to investigate the potential beneficial consequences of such a surprising behaviour," ...
The authors from the Ozouga Chimpanzee Project and Osnabrück suggest that the applied insects might have anti-inflammatory or antiseptic properties. The use of insects for therapeutic purposes has been dated back in humans to 1,400 BCE and is still popular across human populations covering a variety of insect species with scientifically proven antibiotic and anti-viral effects. Alternatively, another explanation may be that such a behaviour does not have any beneficial consequences but is part of the local chimpanzee culture, just as a large number of medical treatments are in human societies. ..."
However, despite research spanning decades from other long-term field sites in west and east Africa, external application of animal matter on open wounds has, until now, never been documented. "Our observations provide the first evidence that chimpanzees regularly capture insects and apply them onto open wounds. We now aim to investigate the potential beneficial consequences of such a surprising behaviour," ...
The authors from the Ozouga Chimpanzee Project and Osnabrück suggest that the applied insects might have anti-inflammatory or antiseptic properties. The use of insects for therapeutic purposes has been dated back in humans to 1,400 BCE and is still popular across human populations covering a variety of insect species with scientifically proven antibiotic and anti-viral effects. Alternatively, another explanation may be that such a behaviour does not have any beneficial consequences but is part of the local chimpanzee culture, just as a large number of medical treatments are in human societies. ..."
From the abstract:
"Self-medication refers to the process by which a host suppresses or prevents the deleterious effects of parasitism and other causes of illness via behavioural means. It has been observed across multiple animal taxa (e.g. bears, elephants, moths, starlings), with many case studies in great apes. Although the majority of studies on self-medication in non-human primates concern the ingestion of plant parts or non-nutritional substances to combat or control intestinal parasites, more recent examples also report topical applications of leaves or other materials (including arthropods) to skin integuments. Thus far, however, the application of insects or insect parts to an individual’s own wound or the wound of a conspecific has never been reported. Here, we report the first observations of chimpanzees applying insects to their own wounds (n = 19) and to the wounds of conspecifics (n = 3)."
No comments:
Post a Comment