Oxford study finds chimpanzees help each other with first aid
Chimpanzees in Uganda’s Budongo Forest help each other with wound care and hygiene, shedding light on the origins of human healthcare
New research from Oxford University has found that chimpanzees living in the Budongo Forest, Uganda, not only care for their own injuries but also help others in their community with wounds and hygiene.
This behaviour offers important clues about how early humans might have started using medicine and caring for each other.
Scientists from the University of Oxford, led by Dr Elodie Freymann from the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, worked with local researchers to study two groups of chimpanzees in the Budongo Forest: Sonso and Waibira. Over several months, they observed how these chimpanzees treated injuries caused by accidents, fights, or snares set by people.
The team combined direct observations with video records from the Great Ape Dictionary and decades of previous data collected by other researchers. They identified the plants chimpanzees used on wounds, many of which have chemical properties known to help heal injuries in traditional medicine.
In total, the researchers recorded 41 cases of wound care, with 34 involving chimpanzees treating themselves and seven showing chimpanzees helping others. The care included licking wounds, pressing on injuries, applying chewed leaves, and cleaning sensitive areas like genitals and anus, which may reduce infections.
Dr Freymann said, “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.”
She added, “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 cases where chimpanzees cared for others, four involved treating wounds, two involved helping to remove snares, and one was a hygiene-related act. The care was not limited by sex, age, or family relations. In fact, some of the help was given to unrelated chimpanzees.
“These behaviours add to the evidence from other sites that chimpanzees appear to recognise need or suffering in others and take deliberate action to alleviate it, even when there’s no direct genetic advantage,” Dr Freymann explained.
The study, titled Self-directed and prosocial wound care, snare removal, and hygiene behaviours amongst the Budongo chimpanzees, is published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution and contributes to understanding the evolutionary roots of human medicine and healthcare.
Dr Freymann said, “Our research helps illuminate the evolutionary roots of human medicine and healthcare systems. By documenting how chimpanzees identify and utilise medicinal plants and provide care to others, we gain insight into the cognitive and social foundations of human healthcare behaviours.”