Injured animals would pause, grab a tiny flying insect from the air, and press it carefully onto an open wound. At first, it seemed like a curious one-off. Then the pattern repeated – and once, it was done not for self-care, but for another chimp.
Chimpanzees caught treating their wounds with insects
The observations come from the Kibale National Park in western Uganda, one of Africa’s key strongholds for wild chimpanzees. Primatologists working there documented several cases of chimpanzees catching unidentified flying insects and applying them directly to open injuries.
Over multiple field seasons, researchers saw chimps perform the same three-step sequence: catch, immobilise, apply.
In each event, the behaviour followed a clear pattern:
- The chimpanzee snatched a flying insect from the air.
- It held the insect gently between the lips or fingers, immobilising it.
- It pressed the insect onto a fresh or healing wound, sometimes several times in a row.
After a few applications, the insect was usually discarded. Other group members often watched carefully, suggesting that the act drew social attention and curiosity.
When first aid becomes social
The majority of the cases involved self-treatment: an injured chimp applying an insect to its own wound. Yet one event stood out. A young female carefully put an insect on the open injury of her brother.
This single act adds a powerful social dimension. Chimpanzees are known for grooming each other, sharing food and supporting allies in fights. Treating another individual’s wound appears more than just bonding; it hints at an attempt to improve someone else’s physical condition.
A chimp pressing an insect onto a sibling’s wound looks very much like a basic form of caregiving, and possibly empathy.
Previous work in the same community had already shown chimps dabbing leaves onto injuries, sometimes on unrelated individuals. The insect treatment might be part of the same emerging picture: a repertoire of simple, targeted care behaviours that extend beyond grooming.
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Is this chimpanzee medicine?
Calling this “medicine” is still a stretch. Scientists are cautious, because the health benefits of the insects are not yet proven. There is, so far, no hard evidence that the insect secretions speed healing or prevent infection.
Nonetheless, there are compelling clues. Many insects produce antimicrobial or anti-inflammatory compounds, either on their bodies or in their secretions. Traditional human medicine has long used insect products, from bee venom to maggots, to treat a range of conditions.
In parallel, chimps are already known to use plants in ways that look medicinal. They sometimes swallow rough leaves without chewing, which helps them expel intestinal parasites. They also chew bitter stems that may carry antiparasitic chemicals.
The insect treatment sits alongside leaf-swallowing and stem-chewing as part of a growing list of behaviours that resemble basic self-medication in great apes.
What is striking in the Ugandan observations is the structure of the behaviour. The same sequence appeared again and again, suggesting intention rather than random fidgeting. The insect was not eaten. It was handled with care and applied repeatedly to the exact location of the wound.
Learning, culture and clever improvisation
This raises a big question: how does such a behaviour start and spread in a chimp community?
Researchers see two main possibilities. One is individual innovation: a chimp accidentally squashes an insect on a wound, feels some relief, and repeats the action in the future. Another is social learning: others watch, then copy, and the technique gradually becomes part of the group’s “toolkit”.
Could insect first aid be cultural?
Similar insect applications were previously documented in chimpanzees in Gabon, thousands of kilometres away. The resemblance suggests that this may not be a one-off quirk of a single group in Uganda. It could be a more widespread, but rarely observed, pattern.
| Location | Observed behaviour | Implication |
|---|---|---|
| Kibale, Uganda | Insects pressed on self and sibling wounds | Possible self-care and social care |
| Gabon | Insects applied to wounds in similar sequence | Behaviour may be common in wild chimps |
If young chimps pay attention to these acts – and field teams have seen them watching closely – they might learn which insects to target, where to find them, and how to apply them. That would make insect-based wound treatment part of chimpanzee culture: a learned tradition, passed between generations.
What scientists still do not know
Many key details remain unsettled. The insects have not yet been identified to species level. Without that, it is hard to test their biological effects in the lab.
Researchers also do not know whether chimps choose specific insects or simply grab whatever is flying nearby. If the same type of insect turns up again and again, that might hint at selectivity and a deeper understanding of its benefits.
If the insects prove to have real healing properties, chimps may be using an unrecognised form of “wild pharmacy” that evolved long before human hospitals.
Another open question concerns motivation. Are chimps consciously aiming to treat infections, or are they reacting to pain and discomfort in a trial-and-error fashion? From the outside, those intentions are difficult to separate, yet the consistent and targeted nature of the behaviour suggests more than random scratching.
What “prosocial” actually means here
Primatologists use the term “prosocial behaviour” for actions that benefit another individual rather than the one performing them. The young female treating her brother’s wound with an insect sits squarely in that category.
The act does not obviously reward her. It takes time and attention, and there is no food involved. Instead, it may reflect a basic form of empathy: reacting to another’s pain with a supportive gesture. Such small signs of care are precisely what researchers look for when tracking the deep evolutionary roots of human compassion.
Why this matters for humans too
Chimpanzees share a large portion of their DNA with humans. Their social lives include alliances, rivalries, friendships and complex family bonds. Seeing them respond creatively to injury sheds light on how early hominins might have handled pain and disease long before organised medicine existed.
In human history, traditional healers often pieced together remedies by observing animals. If chimpanzees in multiple regions really are using insects with medicinal value, they may be tapping into the same natural toolbox that later fed into human ethnomedicine.
From forest first aid to conservation stakes
These behavioural insights also add weight to conservation arguments. Protecting chimpanzees does more than save a flagship species; it preserves living archives of behavioural diversity, including rare practices like insect-based wound care.
Destroying their forests threatens not just the apes, but also the insects and plants they may rely on for health. In a changing climate and a world facing antibiotic resistance, understanding natural antimicrobial strategies used by wildlife could hold unexpected benefits for human medicine.
Every new behaviour documented in wild chimpanzees is a reminder that large parts of their mental and social lives are still unknown – and potentially fragile.
Key terms and ideas behind the research
For readers new to primatology, a few concepts help frame these findings:
- Self-medication: When an animal uses a substance from its environment in a way that appears to improve its own health.
- Social learning: Acquiring behaviours by watching others, rather than through personal trial and error alone.
- Prosocial behaviour: Actions aimed at benefiting another individual, such as sharing food or tending to a wound.
- Antimicrobial compounds: Chemicals that can kill or inhibit bacteria, fungi or other microbes that might infect a wound.
Seen through this lens, a chimp catching a small insect and pressing it onto a gash is not just a curious trick. It may be a tiny, living echo of the long evolutionary road that led from instinctive responses to pain, through animal innovation, to human medicine and organised healthcare.