Research shows that sparrows and other animals also use plants for self-healing.
Recently, Chinese researchers published a study that describes fascinating behavior of Russian finches. These birds appear to have used a special dose of the drug to prevent disease in their young. It is wormwood, placed in the nest with the effect of killing pests and promoting growth. This suggests two things: first, they understand the beneficial properties of the plant, and the other is that they perceive and invest in the future of the baby bird.
Russian sparrows know how to take drugs to protect their young.
This is remarkable, as sparrows are just the latest addition to a long list of animals that can self-medicate.
And they pose big questions to researchers: is this behavior learned, or is it instinctive? Is this knowledge shared between communities and animal families? Do animals try different substances until they feel better? Does the disease simply cause animals to taste plants to find something useful? Does natural selection favor the existence of drug-consuming animals?
In fact, the area of study that is interested in self-medicating animals is also called zoopharmacognosy.
“I believe that every living species today heals itself in one way or another,” said researcher Michael Huffman of the Primate Research Institute at Kyoto University in New York. Times in 2017.
Animal pharmacists
Primates are generally the most adept at self-medication.
In the aforementioned New York Times article, Huffman told the story of a chimpanzee he observed named Chausiku, who was able to cure his discomfort by chewing the juice of the plant Vernonia amygdalina.
According to a local ranger, this plant contains strong medicinal potency but can also be fatal if used in high doses. But Chausiku somehow knows how much juice he needs to drink, and this chimp will re-energize him in a matter of days. After taking the ‘medicine’ he recovered with a strong urge to smoke, which shows that this is the right way to treat some of his stomach pains. Subsequent testing of the plant showed that it contained many compounds with strong anti-parasitic abilities.
It seems clear that this kind of medical knowledge is ubiquitous throughout the animal kingdom. An article in the Proceedings of the United States National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), which was shared by the National Center for Biotechnology Information in 2014, also offers other notable examples.
Some reports of bears, deer and elk eating medicinal plants.
Elephants in Kenya can induce labor by eating certain types of leaves.
Lizards eat a special anti-venom root after being bitten by a snake.
Macaws eat clay to help calm their digestion (clay is an antacid, helps balance the pH in the stomach) and kills bacteria.
The female spider monkey in Brazil has the ability to control her fertility by eating a number of plants. When a female monkey gives birth, she looks for leaves that contain isoflavonoids, estrogen-like compounds that affect fertility. In contrast, when the female is ready to give birth, the female appears to eat more than one particular legume, which produces a steroid that is believed to improve fertility.
It can be argued that primates are most often adept at self-medication. Chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas are often seen swallowing rough leaves to remove parasites from the digestive system. Chimpanzees with roundworms will also eat terribly tasty plants to cure infectious diseases.
Many animals – such as Russian sparrows and some caterpillars – also eat plants that kill or repel the pest.
There are ants that use antibacterial spruce resin to keep their nests free from pathogens. Sparrows and pine sparrows are often lined with cigarette ends to ward off ticks.
Luck or instinct?
Some species of moths also know how to eat plants that kill or repel pests.
If science is the conduct of observations, especially in terms of cause and effect, then it is possible that these animals are doing their own science. As psychologist Robin Dunbar once said, this simple method also allows humans and other organisms to find out how things work.
“Science is a universal tool that characterizes all advanced life forms,” he said.
An animal’s source of medical knowledge can be as simple as the source of knowledge for an individual with digestive issues, finding that eating just one plant makes them feel better. , and that little bit of knowledge will come in handy when he gets sick again. Maybe other dogs nearby saw what happened and learned tips on how to recover from the pain. Maybe young people learn to take medicine by watching adults.
According to Emory University researcher Jaap de Roode, “Primates are not that different from us. They can learn from each other and relate the use of plants. medicine and feel better. “
On the other hand, it could also be natural selection. Animals have a natural predisposition to eat these plants when their stomachs are sore. He later survived to reproduce while the other colic did not survive. Animals use plants as medicine without any specific knowledge or knowledge.
“People thought it would be wise to [self-heal],” de Roode said, but it may not be. He cites the example of monarchs infected with parasites that will lay their eggs in a pest resistant plant, as an option. “I wouldn’t say it’s a conscious choice, but it is an option, as healthy monarchs don’t show such a preference,” he said.
However, it works, and experts say it would be beneficial to keep tabs on all those “non-human pharmacists”. Because there might be cures they know human doctors haven’t figured out yet. From de Roode’s perspective, animals “have been studying medicine much longer than we have.”
