A female chimp in Mahale National Park, Tanzania, became lethargic, lost her appetite and developed diarrhoea. Shortly she began eating the shrub, Vernonia Amygdalina, which has a bitter fruit not normally eaten by chimps. The next day she was back to normal health. Africans use the plant for bowel upsets! Was the chimp using the plant as medicine?
A pregnant elephant in Tsavo Park in Kenya was tracked for about half her gestation period to find out about elephant diet. Normally she walked about 5 km a day browsing on the same plants but near the end of the observation period she walked 28 km for a particular tree she had not eaten before while being observed. Four days later she gave birth. Native women brew a tea from the leaves and bark of the same plant to induce labour!
Starlings are clever birds that do not want to build a new nest every year so re-use their old ones. The trouble is that old nests might be infested with bacteria and parasites that would harm them or their hatchlings. Observers noted that in March or April on returning to their nests, male starlings do a little structural work to their old nests to refurbish them. They sought out the fibrous roots of particular plants—wild carrot and fleabane being examples. As the name of the latter suggests, it is effective against bloodsuckers and the others are in varying degrees bactericidal.
The Navajo Indians relate how bears gave to them one insecticidal plant. The bears chew the plant, spitting out on to their fur and spreading it with their claws. It is found to contain many natural chemicals called coumarins with antibacterial and insecticidal properties.
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