Indigenous knowledge proves key in a study of plants gorillas use to self-medicate

Indigenous knowledge proves key in a study of plants gorillas use to self-medicate

For the Indigenous Vungu people living along the border of Gabon’s Moukalaba-Doudou National Park, the forest here has long been a source of traditional medicines. So when researchers set out to determine the bioactive properties of plants consumed by the park’s western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), and which the Vungu also use for medicine, the community’s knowledge proved vital to their findings. Leresche Oyaba Yinda, lead author…