Ancient folklores tell of animals curing themselves. Many go out of their way, when they are ill, to find natural substances not part of their diet. Scientists were keen to know how animals cure diseases. And a new branch of study called Zoopharmacognosy was born. So how do animals treat or prevent diseases?

Choicest herbs
Plants are medicinal and European starlings in North America know this well. These birds like to line their nests with leaves of wild car-rot, yarrow and fleabane because these aromatic plants control mites. Chicks in nests lined with wild carrot leaves have higher hemoglobin levels than those in nests without it. This is because they lose less blood to mites. In Kolkata, house sparrows bring neem (Azidiachta indica) leaves to line nests which is a popular insecticide used by people.

Anting antics
Many insects make toxins and other species use these. Songbirds wipe ants on their plumage. They roll in anthills and allow the ants to crawl through their feathers during the ‘anting’ behaviour and the ants they choose spray formic acid. Did you know that bee-keepers also use formic acid to control parasitic mites in honey-bees?

Earthy solutions
Giraffes, elephants and rhinoceroses eat clay-rich termite mound soil. Gorillas also mine clay-rich volcanic rock from under the exposed roots of ancient trees. Clay is an effective binding agent. Its chemical structure allows other chemicals to bond with it making it a powerful detoxifying agent. Clay is also the primary ingredient of kaolin found in many over-the-counter medicines to treat gastrointestinal diseases in humans.