African elephants use dozens of different medicinal plants to treat themselves and their families when they are sick. This is the conclusion of a study which interviewed people who live and work alongside the elephants in the Mount Elgon region of Kenya. These particular animals have long intrigued scientists with their extraordinary behaviour - they are known as salt-mining elephants, because they go into caves and scrape the rock with their tusks to extract minerals for their diet.
This newly published research suggests that the same elephants use several different plant species in the forest for medicinal purposes. One of the lead researchers, Dr Elodie Freymann from Brown University in the US, said the study raised the question of whether destruction of forest habitat deprives animals - and humans - of the medicines they need to thrive. "This shows just how entangled our medicines are with the non-human world," Dr Freymann told BBC News.
The scientists collaborated with the conservation charity the Mount Elgon Foundation, external. They interviewed local people, including wildlife scouts and community elders. Accounts described elephants selecting particular plants when they seemed unwell, and mothers reportedly giving medicinal plant material to their calves.
From this, the researchers concluded that the elephants use 35 different plant species, and that 25 of those are known locally to have medicinal uses. Wild chimpanzees filmed using forest 'first aid' Wounded orangutan seen using plant as medicine The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, external, did not name the interviewees - keeping participants anonymous so they felt free to share their stories. Their accounts reveal some intriguing details.
In one testimony, a wildlife scout described seeing elephants using a plant known as Angurweet "as medicine to give to babies". Angurweet is used as a remedy for ailments including stomach ache. The scout, who described elephant mothers mixing it in their mouths - "removing the leaves and chewing it until smooth, along with the roots of some other trees".
He also recounted that he had seen mothers mix this plant material with their own milk. "They give it to the babies, who chew on it themselves and spit out the solids". Professor Michael Huffman, a primatologist based in Japan, currently at Nagasaki University, said this particular account was "tantalising", but more evidence would be needed to prove that elephants provided bespoke medical treatment for their calves.
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