Chimpanzees Use Insects for Medication and Treat Other Members' Wounds, Study Says

Experts observed a surprising behavior from chimpanzees, in which they apply insects to their open wounds.

Experts from Germany's Osnabruck University discovered a new healing activity from 45 chimpanzees residing in Loango National Park, located in the region of Gabo, Africa. They observe that the animals apply insects to their open wound and have been following them since 2019.

Chimps Use Insects for Open Wound Treatment

(Photo : MICHAL CIZEK/AFP via Getty Images)
A chimpanzee watches other chimpanzees from Brno Zoo on a giant screen inside its enclosure at Dvur Kralove Zoo as part of an enrichment project for chimpanzees amid zoo closures due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on March 26, 2021 in Dvur Kralove city. - Two Czech zoos have installed large screens to let their chimpanzee groups watch each other via the Zoom app to sweeten up their lives amid the coronavirus restrictions.

Throughout the investigation, the chimpanzees were found to regularly use insects as a medium to treat their flesh wounds. The insects are also used to heal other members of the group.

Self-medication is a prevalent trait discovered in many species. Chimpanzees, for one, can produce medicating solutions that have chemicals against parasites through swallowing and chewing leaves.

However, treating their wounds using an insect for medication is something new.

Loango National Park houses the progressive Ozouga Chimpanzee Project, led by primatology expert Tobias Deschner and cognitive biology specialist Simone Pika.

Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology expert and project volunteer Alessandra Mascaro, who authored the study, first observed the behavior presented by the animals. The group's first member to exhibit the unique medication was a female chimpanzee who administered the solution to her son's injured foot.

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University of Osnabruck Comparative BioCognition expert and co-author of the study Lara Southern observed the same behavior in a separate, adult male one week after Mascaro's encounter.

Throughout the examination, the authors monitored the chimpanzee individuals who had injuries. The insect medication was observed 22 times in the group.

Pika explained in a Newsweek report that it is "striking" to observe not just how chimpanzees self-medicate through the use of insects but also how they treat wounds of other members. The social behavior exhibited by the chimpanzees is not typically observed in nonhuman species, Pika added.

Insect Medication in History

Deschner found it fascinating to see a surprising feature from the chimpanzees even if they have been studied for decades now. The expert added that their study presents that there are still unexplored aspects around humans' closest relatives. With that said, much effort is required to preserve the animals and protect their remaining members in their respective habitats.

Through the samples extracted from the wounds, further studies are needed to know more about the types of insects used in the chimpanzees' medication activities, according to Deschner.

One big guess is that insects may have a composition that contains anti-inflammatory or antiseptic properties.

Insects for self-medication were already discovered in some ancient civilizations during 1400 BC. Countries including China, Mexico, Brazil, and Korea still use similar methods up to this date.

Some insects may have antiviral and antibiotic properties, including bee and ant venom for joint swells and maggots for chronic and post-surgical inflictions. However, not all insects have medicinal qualities, and in the case of the chimpanzees, it may have just been a part of their natural culture.

The study titled "Application of insects to wounds of self and others by chimpanzees in the wild" was published in Current Biology.

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