New observations from Uganda’s Budongo Forest reveal that chimpanzees tend to their own injuries and care for wounded companions, offering vital clues into the evolutionary roots of healthcare and empathy.
Nairobi, May 14 (Swara) – In a remarkable display of compassion and ingenuity, wild chimpanzees in Uganda’s Budongo Forest have been observed self-treating and helping others remove snares and treat injuries. These findings, recently published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, shed light on complex healthcare behaviours once believed to be uniquely human.
Researchers documented over 40 chimpanzees practising wound care—either on themselves or others—across two well-studied communities: Sonso and Waibira. The acts ranged from licking and dabbing wounds with chewed leaves to carefully removing snares from injured limbs.
During the four-month observation periods in 2021 and 2022, researchers recorded 34 cases of self-care, mostly involving wound treatment. Techniques included licking wounds, applying leaves, and even post-defecation hygiene behaviours, likely aimed at preventing infection.
More than half of these actions involved plant materials, suggesting chimpanzees may select specific leaves or herbs with medicinal properties. Scientists noted that such plant-based treatments could offer pharmacological benefits beyond simple cleaning.
In the Sonso community, one chimpanzee was observed using leaf-dabbing and chewed plant matter in a single treatment session. While snare injuries were rare during the study window, historical data indicate that nearly 40 per cent of Sonso chimpanzees have suffered snare-related trauma at some point.
Perhaps more extraordinary were the prosocial acts: chimpanzees treating others’ wounds or helping to remove snares. The researchers reported four cases of prosocial wound care and three of snare removal, including a dramatic incident involving a juvenile chimpanzee with a snare embedded in her swollen, infected foot. Tragically, she later disappeared and is presumed dead.
Such helping behaviours come with risks, including exposure to infections or physical harm. That some chimpanzees choose to help others, regardless of sometimes unrelated individuals, suggests a level of empathy and social bonding not fully appreciated until now.
The study highlights essential questions: Why do some chimpanzee groups exhibit more prosocial behaviours than others? What role do environmental threats, like human hunting and snares, play in shaping social cooperation?
In the Sonso group, where human-caused injuries are more common, cooperative behaviours were more frequently observed than in Waibira. This suggests that external threats foster tighter social bonds and increased caregiving. Other factors, such as community stability and access to medicinal plants, could also influence these behaviours.
The researchers call for long-term studies to better understand how these actions are learned and whether chimpanzees pass down healthcare knowledge through social learning, similar to human cultural traditions.
This study broadens our understanding of non-human healthcare systems and underscores the importance of protecting the ecosystems that support them. As human activity encroaches on chimpanzee habitats, the ability of these primates to care for themselves and each other may be severely compromised.
