JDR: I have loved animals for as long as I can remember, so writing about their fascinating medicinal behaviors was really fun. Also, I have studied infectious diseases and parasites since 1998 or ...

Over a span of several months, scientists observed 51 chimpanzees from two communities living in the Budongo Central Forest Reserve. The researchers meticulously documented 17 individual cases where ...

It’s the first time any wild animal has been seen caring for a wound using a natural substance with known medicinal properties, researchers report May 2 in Scientific Reports.

An orangutan has been observed using a plant with healing properties to treat a wound on its face, in what scientists say is a first for wild animals. Biologists witnessed the male Sumatran orangutan ...

An orangutan has been spotted treating an open wound with a medicinal plant, the first time the behaviour has been seen in animals. The male Sumatran orangutan named Rakus sustained a painful ...

Scientists observed a wild male orangutan repeatedly rubbing chewed-up leaves of a medicinal plant on a facial wound in a forest reserve in Indonesia. It was the first known observation of a wild ...

The animals used plants to treat illness, repel parasites, neutralize poisons and heal wounds. The term zoopharmacognosy – “animal medicine knowledge” – was invented in 1987.

Journal reference: PLOS One DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0305219 Topics: animals / Monkeys and apes ...

Wild chimpanzees eat plants that have pain-relieving and anti-bacterial properties to heal themselves, according to scientists. They described their “detective work” in the forests of Uganda ...

An orangutan in Indonesia was observed using leaves of a medicinal plant to treat a wound on his face. The discovery adds to growing research that animals may self-medicate.

It said this is the first time a wild animal has been observed using a plant with known medicinal properties to treat wounds. The site in Indonesia is a protected rainforest area that is home to ...