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Leaf-swallowing in Nigerian chimpanzees: evidence for assumed self-medication

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Abstract

A field study in Gashaka, Nigeria, adds the fourth subspecies of chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes vellerosus, to the list of African ape populations in which leaf-swallowing occurs. Unchewed herbaceous leaves of Desmodium gangeticum (Leguminosae-Papilionoideae) were recovered in 4% of 299 faecal samples of wild chimpanzees and clumps of sharp-edged grass leaves in 2%. The ingestion is believed to serve self-medicatory purposes because the leaves had a rough surface or were sharp-edged (which could be related to parasite control through a self-induced increase of gut motility), were not chewed, were excreted whole (indicating that they were not ingested for nutritional purposes), leaf-swallowing was restricted to the rainy season (during which time parasite re-infections are more common), and parasitic worms (Oesophagostomum stephanostomum) were found together with the leaves.

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Acknowledgments

The Nigeria National Park Service granted a research permit to the Gashaka Primate Project. The Chester Zoo Nigeria Biodiversity Programme generously supported the field work. The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) provided logistical support. For identifications, we thank Emmanuel Obot of NCF (herbs) and Hideo Hasegawa/Oita University (parasites). Michael Huffman made helpful comments. This is Gashaka publication No. 3.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK

    Andrew Fowler, Yianna Koutsioni & Volker Sommer

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  1. Andrew Fowler
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  2. Yianna Koutsioni
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  3. Volker Sommer
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Correspondence to Andrew Fowler.

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Submitted to: Primates, May 2005; revision: 26 Oct 2005

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Fowler, A., Koutsioni, Y. & Sommer, V. Leaf-swallowing in Nigerian chimpanzees: evidence for assumed self-medication. Primates 48, 73–76 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-006-0001-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-006-0001-6

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