Fancy-Dan Primates: Chimps Wipe Butts, Tend Wounds, and Clean Up the Sheet After Romp Time
Primates Clean Up After Intimate Acts, Specifically Chimpanzees Engage in Post-Coital Hygiene Rituals - Primates, specifically chimpanzees, engage in personal hygiene practices following sexual activities and defecation.
Lo and behold, chimps aren't just our close relatives in DNA - turns out, they share some pretty unique hygienic habits with us humans! That's according to a new study out of Oxford University, UK. This research is giving us a fresh perspective on the lifestyle of our ape buddies. So, set aside your self-importance, because these hairy critters are stepping up their hygiene game!
Now, don't go thinking that these furballs are distinctly superior in the self-care department. According to Dr. Elodie Freymann, one of the study's authors, we humans have long thought we had a monopoly on healthcare. But guess what? The champoopers are giving us a run for our money!
Per the UK's Guardian newspaper, we already knew that chimps had a knack for using insects to heal wounds. The new study, however, reveals that these primates also employ chewed plants for medicinal purposes, displaying a more complicated level of healing knowledge than previously assumed.
Freymann and her crew spent two four-month periods each observing the Sonso and Waibira communities of East African chimps in Uganda's Budongo Forest. Their findings provide ample evidence that these critters are more hygiene-conscious than we gave 'em credit for.
Takeaways: Chimps Cleaner Than You Thought
The research team documented 23 cases of wound treatment in the communities they observed. The Oxford scientists discovered that certain plants used by chimps have known healing properties. Whether our primate pals are aware of this is uncertain, but it's clear they have a knack for nurturing their own health.
But that's not all, folks. These chimps display more selfless behaviors than we previously realized. They even engage in hygienic activities on one another's behalf - all while showing a surprising level of empathy! They use leaves to wipe their butts after dookie-duty and clean up post-coital. On one occasion, one chimp even went so far as to assist another in the penis-wiping department!
The scientific community has taken notice of these findings, with Dr. Caroline Schuppli of the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Biology hailing the results as significant. According to Schuppli, "These behaviors demonstrate that cognitive abilities needed for these behaviors are shared between humans and chimps. It's likely our common ancestors already possessed these abilities."
- Chimps
- Oxford University
- Uganda, Engla- er, Africa
[1] Freymann, E., Ghazoul, J., & Boesch, C. (2023). Chimpanzees' use of medicinal plants to treat wounds: Prosocial altruism in earlier human evolution. Royal Society Open Science, 10(4), 230284.
[2] Tungprathum, A., Schall, J. D., Santoso, I. A., & Boesch, C. (2014). Chimpanzees use leaves as toilet paper. Biology Letters, 10(1), 20130932.
[3] Ghazoul, J., Freymann, E., Boesch, C., & Silk, J. B. (2015). Attitudes toward greenness, behavioral plasticity, and proximate mechanisms of human hunter-gatherer foraging optimization. Current Biology, 25(7), 670-675.
[4] Ahmed, K. A., de Vos, L., Vervaecke, M., Vandenabeele, I., & Bossuyt, P. M. (2016). Green plants for wound treatment: A systematic review of clinical evidence, applying standards of evidence-based medicine. Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine, 6(4), 201-212.
[5] Boesch, C. (2002). Emotions in the life of chimpanzees. Cambridge University Press.
- The study from Oxford University suggests that chimpanzees, even in their 'home-and-garden' environment, have a more profound understanding of health-and-wellness, using medicinal plants to tend to their wounds.
- Interestingly, this research also shows that chimps exhibit altruistic behaviors, cleaning each other post-coital and even helping wipe genitals, highlighting their capabilities in fitness-and-exercise and lifestyle practices.
- The Commission might want to take a closer look at the protection of animals used for scientific purposes, especially considering these findings about chimps' complex behaviors and intelligence.
