Scientists have recorded chimpanzees in Uganda using medicinal plants to administer first aid to their fellow primates. Working with a local team in the Budongo Forest, the researchers at the University of Oxford recorded incidents where chimpanzees used the plants to treat open wounds and other injuries.
The new study, published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, builds on last year's discovery, where it was found that chimps seek out and eat certain plants to self-medicate.
"The chimpanzees dab them (plants) on their wounds or chew the plants up, and then apply the chewed material to the open injury," lead researcher Elodie Freymann told BBC.
"Chimpanzee wound care encompasses several techniques: direct wound licking, which removes debris and potentially applies antimicrobial compounds in saliva."
The behaviour was noted amongst two communities of chimpanzees in the forest. Akin to all chimpanzees, the members in these communities suffer injuries caused by fights, accidents, or snares set by humans.
The researchers spent four months observing the chimps in each community and recorded their behaviour. They also examined logbooks dating back to the 1990s, which highlighted stories of leaf dabbing on injuries by the chimps.
"We also documented hygiene behaviours, including the cleaning of genitals with leaves after mating and wiping the anus with leaves after defecation - practices that may help prevent infections," said Dr Freymann.
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Chimapnzees and tools
Last month, another study claimed that chimpanzees act as engineers when making their tools, deliberately choosing plants that provide materials with more flexibility. Study findings showed that plant species never used by chimpanzees were 175 per cent more rigid than their preferred materials.
Researchers noted that while technical skills may have been acquired through trial-and-error learning, social learning, such as stimulus enhancement or tool sharing within the community, also contributed to this behaviour among apes. They concluded that chimpanzees may therefore possess a kind of "folk physics", an intuitive comprehension of material properties.
