#443 Wild Health

Wild animals have no doctors and no medicines. So how do they keep themselves healthy? Cindy Engel, Ph.D., describes the actions taken by animals from rats and birds to rhinos and elephants to recover from illness and injury. Research indicates that many animals, including our close cousins, chimpanzees and other primates, seek out special plants when they are under the weather. Many of these plants contain compounds that attack parasites or bacteria that may cause illness. How do monkeys learn what to do? We’ll find out what we can learn from the animals.