Chimpanzees are Using Insects to Treat Wounds

       


    Humans have a system put in place for when an injury occurs, if you get hurt you're only a short drive away from a hospital. For wild animals there is no immediate medical care for if they get hurt. So, what do they do? Many animals are on their own when dealing with cuts or sores, but some animals like chimpanzees, rely on their “community” for help. 

    Chimpanzees among other primates are known for grooming each other. They pick off dirt, tangled fur, dead skin, and most of all insects. But, what if I told you that sometimes they actually use these insects for other reasons, medical ones. A video caught by Alessandra Mascaro who was part of a team who studied these habits in Chimpanzees shows them using some sort of insect to treat wounds. In the video it shows a chimp named Suzee take an insect and apply it to a wound on Sia, her son. 

    This was not the first, or last time they saw this method being used in their 15 month study of primate behavior. After returning from their study, the scientists published an account with information about the observed behaviors. While watching the medicinal methods of these chimpanzees they noticed the same pattern of application. First, they caught the insect from under a tree, branch, or flying around them. Second, they put it in between their lips in order to immobilize it. Third, they put the insect on the surface of the wound, moving it around. They repeated steps two and three until they utilized the insect completely and tossed it away. 


    The scientists were unsure about what exactly the insect was, but they did notice that it was the same insect everytime. A small, black insect and they assumed it was winged because of the fast motion that was required to grab it out of the air. They did not know how exactly it was able to heal the wound or how the chimps knew to use this specific insect to help treat them. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the chimps were ingesting the insects - they are solely using them in a medicinal manner. 


    The main takeaway from this observation was that these behaviors show that animals exhibit prosocial behaviors. This type of behavior contributes to the idea that animals do not lack empathy, rather this goes against the scientific theory of natural selection. These chimpanzees are choosing to help each other, even if they get nothing out of it.

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