Chimps use medicinal plants to treat their wounds
NBC2 days
Study: Chimps Show Medical Care Skills in Uganda Forest
Above: Chimpanzies Gill (left) and Chippie (right) play with papier mache easter eggs filled with healthy treats during the Easter Egg Hunt for Chimps on April 16, 2025, at Blair Drummond Safari Park in Stirling, U.K. Image copyright: Andrew Milligan/Contributor/PA Images via Getty Images
The Spin
Narrative A
This study confirms previous research showing that chimpanzees use medicinal plants to heal wounds, building on proving their empathy and mutual care. Like humans, chimps select plants with antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, suggesting shared cognitive traits. Their consoling behaviors, akin to human empathy, and ability to pass down medicinal knowledge highlight our close evolutionary bond, challenging views of chimps as merely violent.
Narrative B
Studies like this draw attention to the biological connection humans share with other mammals — especially traits like empathy and natural healing — that society has strayed from. Rapid techno-social progress can amplify our weaknesses and erode the communal bonds that once sustained us. Advanced medicine and technology — while undeniably remarkable — can create unstable networks, harming the very beings they aim to help by abandoning our innate, animal-like harmony.