While it’s still a ways away from the plot of “The Planet of the Apes,” a new study has found that chimpanzees are learning to treat wounds with their own type of medicine.
The study published in Current Biology found that the chimpanzees have been placing insects they catch on wounds.
Scientists have looked at the behavior seen in chimpanzees in Gabon, a nation in West Africa. They shared that the animals not only treat their wounds with the bugs but also the wounds of others.
An adult female chimpanzee named Suzee was the first seen using the healing method in 2019 when she placed an insect on her son.
After catching an insect, she placed it in her mouth, “squeezed the insect,” and placed it on her son’s wound, the study said. This has been called an act of empathy by researchers who have observed chimpanzees.
Simone Pika, a biologist at the University of Osnabruck in Germany, was a co-author of the study and said that they were acting with “the welfare of another being” in mind, The New York Times reported.
Researchers observed Suzee applying insects to her son’s wound two more times, and over 15 months, they studied a group of 45 central chimpanzees and found the same behavior more than 19 times.
Pike shared with the Times that there is always something new with chimpanzees and their everyday habits.
“With every field site we learn more about chimps,” Pike told The Times. “They really surprise us.”
Scientists could not determine the specific insect used when treating the wounds, but Pike shared with AFP that it may contain anti-inflammatory substances. Insects have numerous medical properties, and researchers are continuing their work to find the bug being used.
Still, the gesture itself goes a long way, as Pike shared with AFP how big it is to see one chimp helping another.
“It takes a lot of trust to put an insect in an open wound,” Pika told AFP. “They seem to understand that if you do this to me with this insect, then my wound gets better. It’s amazing.”
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