New discovery reveals chimpanzees in Uganda use flying insects to tend their wounds

By: Kayla Kolff, Osnabrück University

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: October 28, 2025

Words: 1,067

Last Updated: 3 weeks, 6 days ago

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Animals respond to injury in many ways. So far, evidence for animals tending wounds with biologically active materials is rare. Yet, a recent study of an orangutan treating a wound with a medicinal plant provides a promising lead.

Chimpanzees, for example, are known to lick their wounds and sometimes press leaves onto them, but these behaviours are still only partly understood. We still do not know how often these actions occur, whether they …

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