Wild elephants travel long distances to eat specific healing bark and leaves

UPDATE - follow-up to After great apes, scientists find African elephants self-medicate too: wild elephants travel very long distances to reach specific trees without stopping to look for food along the way. Their single focus is eating the bark or leaves of these plants.

Behaviour

Wild animals have long shown natural medical knowledge. Orangutans put plants on their wounds, chimpanzees eat bitter antibacterial leaves, Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins line up to rub against certain corals, and birds use insecticidal plants in their nests to keep away mites that cause anaemia.

Science

Experts call this behaviour zoopharmacognosy. Animals look for plants to deal with parasite problems, breathing issues, fungal infections, cuts, and stomach troubles. While most of these remedies come from plants like leaves, barks, and resin, animals also use clay, charcoal, and insects.

Context

Zoopharmacognosy shows that wild animals possess a natural ability to identify and use medicinal resources in their habitats to treat various health issues. This behavior highlights the complex survival instincts present across different animal species in the wild.