- #1
zoobyshoe
- 6,510
- 1,290
The practice of medicine, it seems, was probably in place well before the emergence of modern man:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/clever-monkeys/monkeys-and-medicinal-plants/3957/
This may not be surprising: we tend to consider monkeys smart and human-like. But I wonder how far down it goes, what other animals seek out what we'd call "medicinal" remedies in response to problems.
They [white faced capuchin monkeys] rub themselves with leaves from the piper plant, which is also used by some people in Costa Rica as an insect repellant. The piper leaves are also antiseptic, which helps ward off bacterial and fungal infections.
Tamarins have been known to swallow large seeds that in effect dislodge and sweep worms out of their intestinal tract. This practice markedly decreases the parasitic load within their intestines.
The bonnet macaques of Southern India have taken to eating dirt from termite mounds. Why eat dirt from termite mounds? The dirt contains kaolin minerals, the same ingredient found in over the counter anti-diarrhetics such as Kaopectate. Rhesus macaques also partake in geophagy, the eating of dirt, for the same reasons. Clay also contains kaolin, and the rhesus macaques take extra care to only ingest clay-rich soils.
Because their leafy diets contain high levels of cyanide, many monkeys, like the black and white colobus in Clever Monkeys, suffer from indigestion. The discovery by red colobus monkeys that eating charcoal absorbs the cyanide and relieves indigestion was revolutionary. The practice is transmitted from mother to infant by imitation.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/clever-monkeys/monkeys-and-medicinal-plants/3957/
This may not be surprising: we tend to consider monkeys smart and human-like. But I wonder how far down it goes, what other animals seek out what we'd call "medicinal" remedies in response to problems.