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Self-Medication In Wild Animals

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Research indicates that wild animals utilise aspects of their natural environment to self-medicate in at least three ways. The use of rough plants as a type of intestinal scour is a prevalent technique for the removal of internal parasites. Some animals also poison their internal parasites by ingesting toxic plants found in their natural habitat. In addition, in order to neutralise toxins in the plants they eat, some wild animals engage in geophageous behaviour.

A widespread method of self-medication in wild animals is the use of abrasive plants to purge the digestive system. Research conducted on two continents shows that some wild animals deliberately consume plants whose leaves are covered with microscopic hooks which scour the intestines. …show more content…

For instance, research in Africa has found that chimpanzees in their natural habitat sometimes ingest the poisonous Veronia plant. This particular plant produces terpenes, which are toxic. In the correct dosage, the terpenes in Veronia kill intestinal worms while leaving the host animal unharmed. Researchers found that chimpanzees eat only the pith (the soft, spongy centre tissue) of the Veronia plant – where the concentration of terpenes is optimal for the poisoning of parasites – and do not suffer any ill effects. The scientists have not discovered whether this self-medicating behaviour is learned or instinctive, but their research suggests that chimpanzees may understand the concept of dosage, as Veronia often proves fatal to other wild animals that ingest the whole plant. This research shows that chimpanzees and other animals have the capacity to treat parasites with plants from their natural surroundings; other research shows that when plants themselves provide the problem, wild animals employ yet another form of …show more content…

Geophagy is the consumption of soil, and in wild animals this practice has the effect of neutralising the defensive poisons produced by plants. For instance, researchers discovered that some tropical birds practise geophagy when they consume seeds that contain alkaloids, which are toxic. In an experiment with seed-eating macaws scientists discovered a direct link between the consumption of clay and the reduction of alkaloids in the birds’ bloodstreams. Furthermore, the leaves of many tropical plants contain high levels of toxins, and scientists have observed that herbivores in tropical regions regularly consume clay. Elephants, for example, only cease consumption of clay during specific times of the year when their diet changes from leaves to fruit. As a result, researchers have concluded that these wild animals ingest clay in order to neutralise the poisons contained in the plants they

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