Self medicating animals

Recently I watched a program on PBS, Animals Like Us-Medicine, about self medicating animals. It was very fascinating. Current research has shown that animals use plant and insect substances to treat themselves.

Interesting Highlights:

Wooly bears (caterpillars) will eat poison hemlock to survive being parasitized. Parasitic flies inject their eggs into the plump wooly bear's body. These caterpillars have a very healthy appetite and grow fast eating lupine which makes them a smart target for a fly. The fly larva develops inside the wooly bear's abdomen, living off its fat and eventually taking up the whole abdominal space. Once it's ready the maggot will make a hole in its host and emerge from the caterpillar's body. The result is the caterpillar dies. Those wooly bears eating poison hemlock were more likely to survive than the ones eating lupine. The poison hemlock somehow protects it against the effects of the parasitoid, although it does not get rid of the fly. How fascinating.

Chimpanzees in Africa have been observed eating leaves atypical to their diet. During the wet season, when parasites are prevalent, they will seek out and consume the leaves from plants of the Aspilia genus to rid their intestines of worms. The chimps will gently fold the large bristly hair covered leaves and swallow them whole. They will swallow many leaves, hundreds, slowly and carefully until their stomachs are full. Eventually the leaves are excreted whole, undigested with the parasitic worms stuck to leaf hairs and trapped within the folds. This is very clever. Using the numerous hairy leaves to pass through the gastrointestinal tract scour-like flushing out the bothersome worms.

There were many others but these were the two I thought were very interesting. I'd like to see this program again. Animals have plenty to teach us about healing. I wonder how this important health and how medical knowledge is passed on to the next generation?