Chimps design and use tools. That is well-known. But is it possible that they also use medicines to treat their own and others’ injuries? A new report suggests they do.
Since 2005, researchers have been studying a community of 45 chimps in the Loango National Parkin Gabon, on the west coast of Africa. Over a period of 15 months, from November 2019 to February2021, the researchers saw 76 open wounds on 22 different chimps. In 19 instances they watched a chimp performing what looked like self-treatment of the wound using an insect as a salve.
The procedure was similar each time. First, the chimps caught a flying insect; then they immobilized it by squeezing it between their lips. They placed the insect on the wound, moving it around with their fingertips. Finally, they took the insect out, using either their mouths or their fingers. Often, they put the insect in the wound and took it out several times.
Aaron Sandel, an anthropologist at the University of Texas, Austin, found the work valuable, but at the same time expressed some doubts. “They don’t offer an alternative explanation for the behavior, and they make no connection to what insect it might be,” he said. “The jump to a potential medical function? That’s a stretch at this point.”
In some forms of ape social behavior, it is clear that there is an exchange of value. For example, grooming another chimp provides relief from parasites for the groomed animal, but also an insect snack for the groomer. But in the instances she observed, Dr. Pika said, the chimp gets nothing practical in return. To her, this shows the apes are engaging in an act that increases "the welfare of another being,” and teaches us more about the primates’ social relationships.
4. How did the researchers draw their conclusions?
A.They interviewed some chimp experts. | B.They carried out continuous observations. |
C.They compared chimps with other animals. | D.They came up with doubts and solved them. |
5. What is the fourth step of chimps’ treatment for injures?
A.Removing medicine. | B.Obtaining a salve. |
C.Squeezing their lips. | D.Catching an insect. |
6. What does Dr. Pika highlight about apes?
A.An exchange of interest. | B.Their behavior of less value. |
C.A need of insect snack. | D.Their concern for social relationships. |
7. What is the best title for the text?
A.Chimps’ Life Habits Remain a Puzzle | B.Researchers Got New Evidence about Apes |
C.Chimps Put Insects on Wounds as Cures | D.Apes Are Expert at Exploring the Unknown |