Elephants Use Medicinal Plants to Treat Themselves, Researchers Find
Researchers said mothers pass medicinal plants to calves, and 25 of the 35 species identified are known locally for healing uses.
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8 Articles
African elephants use dozens of plant species to treat themselves and their families when they are sick, according to a study conducted in the Monte Elgon region of Kenya. The survey, published in Scientific Reports, identified 35 species used by animals, of which 25 are locally known for their medicinal properties.
Scientists have discovered that African elephants may use medicinal plants to treat themselves and their offspring when they become ill.
They also like to give it to their calves, according to a recent study.
Elephants found to forage and mix their own medicines
Elephants prepare carefully measured mixtures of medicinal plants and give them to their calves, new research has revealed.Mother elephants living around Mount Elgon in western Kenya were seen chewing specific roots and leaves, then mixing the resulting mixture with their breast milk to feed their young.The study, carried out by scientists at Hamburg's Bernard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, documents what appears to be the first known in…
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