Self medicating animals

[Catherine]

It has been observed that animals will seek out certain plants to eat when they are sick. This has been observed in chimps and it has been observed in catterpillars and everything in between.  Now that scientists are starting to study the behavior, it is clear that they animals are actually medicating themselves to combat an illness. They are seeking whatever plant(s) is needed to overcome whatever health problem they have.

http://news.google.ca/news/url?sr=1&ct2=...t=2&at=dt0

We thought we invented medicine. Clearly  we did not.  We just invented expensive health care systems.
Medicine, in particular using plants to treat illness seems to be a basic trend for the whole animal kingdom. We could learn from it. It is the roots of medicine/health care as we know it and we should study our roots. Modern medicine has its strong points, but it would be good to understand how it all started.

When you think about this and what it means you have to admit that animals are smarter and understand their environments much better than we think they do. They also pass knowledge on from one generation to the next.  This is a very significant observation of animals. I am still thinking about what it all, means.

[Tobi]

Animals listen to their instincts. To us, it seems to be 'clever' to do that. Many humans have forgotten to listen to the instinct in their bodies.
Yet to choose a certain herb....that might mean they learned that behaviour from their elders, who pass their knowledge down the line.
But it's interesting how they just seem to know what herb can be helpful, much of the time. My Toby used to eat "Cleavers" when out on a walk. Cleavers are also called "Goose Grass". They are a bit bristly to eat! But they are very good and can help skin problems and lymphatic problems. They can also be eaten as food.
Now I never taught him to do that. He did it of his own accord. He did sometimes get an itchy skin condition. The vet said it was caused by "Harvest mites" in the grass. I will never know. Now, from what I've learned since, it could have been an allergy.

[Catherine]

Animals do seem to know what to eat when they are sick. Generations of animals have had this knowledge. I am sure some of it is passed on from one generation to the next. That makes it so much worse when hunters kill mature animals who are needed to pass on this information.

Also when you think about it, everything needed for health is available in an animal's environment. When we mess up the environment we do more damage than we realize. We may be destroying what is needed for health.

Everything needed for our health may be present in our environment. Instead of using animals in labs to test drugs and look for cures, we should be watching their behavior. They might lead us to cures if we let them. The Earth might give us what we need if we received it as the gift it is instead of taking it by force.

Toby knew what he needed didn't he. Dogs seem to know what they are looking for. He was helping his own skin issues by eating the right plant.