"When the kunkis (tame elephants) are sick, the mahouts take them to the forest where the elephants pick the herbs or plants they need. Somehow they're able to prescribe their own medicine."
Dinesh Choudhury, Indian elephant hunter 2000
"The secrets of Nature are known to all wild creatures and on these they thrive."
Juliette de baricli Levy
Since ancient times, we have learned about potential plant medicines by observing wild animals. In records through to the modern day we watch and wonder as Juliette did.
"When i see my Afghan hounds in my gardens, or in the fields, or along the river-sides or sea-shores of the many lands where we have been together, I am always amazed at the way they have selected medicinal plants, shrubs and tress, and know where to find them an dhow to use them. By use. i mean the amount eaten to serve its purpose. Mostly their uses is as a laxative or to promote vomiting, and they know exactly how much to achieve one or the other effect."
I have watched my cat choose one type of grass over the other, tending towards soft weedy grasses rather than the drier native grasses, eating them and then vomiting. Whether because she has a funny belly or a stubborn furball Im unsure, but it is definitely a concious action to me.One related to her not feeling well or more importantly trying to heal better.
Scientists have previously thought such observations romanticised, however as sciences rigidity of old is being blown apart by discoveries and work in the field, 'zoopharmacognosy' is now a recognised area of research into the behavioural practices of animals to stay healthy. Also including the eating of soil to gain minerals missing in the diet, old bones to gain calcium and clay to counter, and bind, dietry toxins by animals.
When preparing their nests, male European starlings weave fresh green herbs in amongst them. In north America they preferentially choose wild carrot ( Daucus carota), yarrow (Achillea millefolia), elm-leaved and rough goldenrod (Soldaigo sp.) and fleabane ( Erigeron sp.) even when they are not the most common plants close by. Hows that for specific! Interestingly enough old herbals refer to wild carrot as 'bird's nest root' which suggests this plant has been used in nesting for some time. The common denominator with these plants is they smell, are aromatic. When researchers removed the fresh plants from nests, the amount of mites in the chicks rose. More specifically, chicks in nests containing wild carrot had higher haemoglobin levels, suggesting they were losing less to mites. Not only that but the plants chosen are effective against Streptococcus and Staphylococcus bacteria. Some serious fumigation going down there. In addition to this the plants starlings choose are commonly used by herbalists for skin problems such as excma, ulcers and sores. Thus they may also help with the symptoms of parasitic infestation.
So it seems the animals were simply ahead of the research.....
Resources:
Wild Health : How Animals Keep Themselves Well And What We can Learn From Them by Cindy Engel
The Complete Herbal Handbook for the Cat and Dog by Juliette de Baracli Levy
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