Researchers led by Dr Elodie Freymann , of the Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab , School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography , University of Oxford, have observed chimpanzee communities in the Budongo Forest, Uganda, helping each other with wound care and hygiene. These findings contribute to understanding the cognitive and social foundations of healthcare amongst humans.
Oxford University researchers, alongside a local team of scientists studying chimpanzees in Budongo Forest, Uganda, have observed that these primates don't just treat their own injuries, but care for others, too - information which could shed light on how our ancestors first began treating wounds and using medicines.
Our research helps illuminate the evolutionary roots of human medicine and healthcare systems. By documenting how chimpanzees identify and utilize medicinal plants and provide care to others, we gain insight into the cognitive and social foundations of human healthcare behaviours.
Dr Elodie Freymann, School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography
The new study, ' Self-directed and prosocial wound care, snare removal, and hygiene behaviours amongst the Budongo chimpanzees ', published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution , joins a growing body of evidence that chimpanzees use medicinal plants to stay healthy.
Although chimpanzees elsewhere have been observed helping other community members with medical problems, the persistent presence of this behaviour in Budongo could suggest that medical care among chimpanzees is much more widespread than previously known, and not confined to care for close relatives.
Dr Elodie Freymann, School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, said: 'Our research helps illuminate the evolutionary roots of human medicine and healthcare systems. By documenting how chimpanzees identify and utilize medicinal plants and provide care to others, we gain insight into the cognitive and social foundations of human healthcare behaviours.'
Dr Elodie FreymannDr Freymann's team studied two communities of chimpanzees in the Budongo Forest - Sonso and Waibira. Like all chimpanzees, members of these communities are vulnerable to injuries, whether caused by fights, accidents, or snares set by humans.
The researchers spent four months observing each community, as well as drawing on video evidence from the Great Ape Dictionary database, logbooks containing decades of observational data, and a survey of other scientists who had witnessed chimpanzees treating illness or injury.
Any plants chimpanzees were seen using for external care were identified; several of which have chemical properties which could improve wound healing and relevant traditional medicine uses.
The researchers documented 41 cases of care overall: seven cases of care for others - prosocial care - and 34 cases of self-care. These cases often included several different care behaviours, which might be treating different aspects of a wound, or might reflect a chimpanzee's personal preferences.
Dr Freymann continued: 'Chimpanzee wound care encompasses several techniques: direct wound licking, which removes debris and potentially applies antimicrobial compounds in saliva; finger licking followed by wound pressing; leaf-dabbing; and chewing plant materials and applying them directly to wounds. All chimpanzees showed recovery from wounds, though of course we don't know what the outcome would have been had they not done anything about their injuries.
'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.'
Of the seven instances of prosocial care, the researchers found four cases of wound treatment, two cases of snare removal assistance, and one case where a chimpanzee helped another with hygiene. Care wasn't preferentially given by, or provided to, one sex or age group. On four occasions, care was given to genetically unrelated individuals.
'These behaviours add to the evidence from other sites that chimpanzees appear to recognize need or suffering in others and take deliberate action to alleviate it, even when there's no direct genetic advantage,' said Dr Freymann.
Read ' Self-directed and prosocial wound care, snare removal, and hygiene behaviours amongst the Budongo chimpanzees ' in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution .
