What Do Elephants Know?
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These elephants live in the forests of Gabon, a country in Africa.
When elephants eat farmers’ crops, are they really just trying to treat their illnesses? Farmers in the African nation of Gabon noticed that elephants that steal their crops eat the leaves of the plants, but not the fruits. A new study suggests that this may be because certain leaves are like medicine for elephants.
Scientist Steeve Ngama collected dung (poop) samples from some elephants that are known for stealing crops in Gabon. Ngama found that some of the dung samples contained parasites. A parasite is a living thing (often a kind of worm) that lives inside another living thing. Parasites can make people and animals sick.
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Elephants eat leaves from papaya plants when they have parasites.
Ngama also collected samples of the types of leaves the elephants were stealing and eating. They included banana and papaya leaves. Scientists know that these leaves have ingredients that fight certain kinds of parasites. Ngama found that the elephants with parasites were more likely to eat the banana and papaya leaves. This could mean the sick elephants steal these leaves because they are trying to feel better.
How do elephants know which plants to eat in order to feel better? Elephants are social animals, which means they live in groups and communicate knowledge to each other. Over time, elephants probably learned that when they eat certain leaves, they felt less sick. Older elephants may teach this to each new generation of elephants.
Ngama says it’s possible that elephants’ knowledge may prove value to humans who hope to develop new medicines.
