Chimpanzee healthcare
"We document and analyze both previously reported and newly observed instances of self-directed and other-directed wound care, snare removal, and putatively medicinal hygiene behaviors in the Sonso and Waibira chimpanzee communities of the Budongo Forest in Uganda.
"Reports of these behaviors come from archival records collected from over thirty years of observation at the Budongo Conservation Field Station (BCFS), videos recorded by researchers at the site, and all-occurrence behavioral data collected over two 4-month periods of direct observation.
"We describe self-directed wound care behaviors such as wound licking, leaf-dabbing, pressing fingers to wounds, and the application of chewed plant material to wounds, as well as a successful self-directed snare removal.
"We also document self-directed hygiene behaviors including postcoital genital leaf wiping and post-defecation leaf wiping.
"For the first time in Budongo, we report the presence of prosocial wound care, adding to similar observations documented at other chimpanzee field sites."
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Empathy recommended