Exploring Animal Self-Medication

A mother chimpanzee and her child at Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania, represent a fascinating subject of study. These chimps were among the first animals recognized by Western scientists in the 1980s for self-medicating behaviors. This discovery challenged the prior assumption that seeking treatment was a uniquely human trait. Many animals also engage in practices akin to self-medicating.

Since the late 1980s, researchers have focused on understanding these animal behaviors to gain insights. Documenting these practices may help expand human medicine by drawing inspiration from the natural remedies used by animals.

Freelance science journalist Mandy Nguyen sheds light on these intriguing behaviors. For those interested in more animal stories, ideas and questions can be sent to [email protected] for potential exploration in future episodes.

Supporting public media through NPR+ offers perks like ad-free listening across over 25 podcasts, including this one. More information is available at plus.npr.org. ‘Short Wave’ is accessible on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

This episode was produced by Hannah Chinn, edited by her and Rebecca Ramirez, with fact-checking by Tyler Jones. The audio engineer was Jimmy Keeley.