Science has long known that animals self-medicate. Orangutans balm wounds with plants, chimps swallow bitter antibacterial leaves, dolphins rub against selected corals, birds line nests with insect-repellent plants. Scientists term this behaviour zoopharmacognosy. Now, a paper in Scientific Reports adds African elephants to this list.
Researchers studying elephants in Kenya's Mount Elgon region, guided by local experts who have worked with elephants for decades, found mothers feeding specific plant-based "medicines" to offspring. Knowledge is transferred intergenerationally. In total, 35 plant species and four types of soil and clay are consumed when unwell. The elephants travel long distances without foraging, with a single-minded mission to eat a particular bark or leaves.
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R. Sukumar, National Science Chair at Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc Bengaluru, says while no systematic study of zoopharmacognosy exists for Asian elephants, he personally saw a pregnant female eating Terminalia crenulata bark when her temporal gland was secreting and she was in advanced pregnancy. His mahout confirmed female elephants do feed on this bark when they are about to give birth.
What does this mean for India, home to 60% of Asian elephants and rich tribal ethnobotany? Many of the 39 natural resources identified in Kenya are also used in indigenous human traditional medicine. It suggests shared bio-cultural knowledge systems between forest-dwelling communities and elephants. Local experts in Kenya pointed to 39 resources elephants use, mirroring human use.
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Prof. Sukumar warns: exploitation of such knowledge by modern pharmaceutical industry for developing drugs for human use should respect intellectual property rights of indigenous communities and perhaps even contribute to wildlife conservation goals. In an age of one-health, the elephant pharmacist reminds us that the forest is not just habitat but also a library, and that traditional knowledge is a bridge between species.
Tags: #Elephants #Zoopharmacognosy #SelfMedication #Wildlife #Kenya #IISc #TraditionalKnowledge #Biodiversity #Conservation #OneHealth