Recent camera-trap footage from Brazil’s Atlantic Forest is probing our understanding of self-medication practices in animals. Researchers, in this case, found evidence that suggests a host of tropical mammals regularly visit particular trees known to play a role in traditional medicine. The work was published in the journal BioTropica.
Olivier Kaisin, a Ph.D. student at the University of Liège and at São Paulo State University, and his team uncovered the unusual behavior while conducting research on black tamarins. Notably, camera footage captured members of this monkey species – not known for their sociability – visiting cabreúvas (Myroxylon peruiferum) trees in groups.
