Chimps caring for chimps: Apes administer first aid, research finds

Chimpanzees are, genetically speaking, one of our closest ancestors, and it's perhaps not suprising that they display many behaviours seen in human beings as well.

Now, fresh research into the behaviour of chimpanzees has revealed that the apes care for each other, administering first aid to those wounded.

Thirty years of observations in the Budongo Forest in Uganda have revealed this rarely-seen behaviour: according to scientists from Oxford, chimpanzees display both ape-to-ape care as well as self-care, and these behaviours are very likely to be widespread among chimps, despite limited observational data about the same.

According to a report by Science News, 34 incidents of self-care were recorded in the Budongo Forest, while other seven other incidents were observed that resembled first aid.

After attacks by other chimps, or in instances of injuries from human-laid traps, the apes were observed licking wounds and sometimes dabbing them with leaves.

These instances of chimp-to-chimp care was not only extended to kin, but also to unrelated apes in need of help.

In one such extraordinary display, a male chimp was seen freeing a female from a snare set for game, thereby saving her life.

Instances of chimp-to-chimp care was also witnessed in other cases, even when such care endangered the caregiver by exposing them to pathogens or contagious diseases.

"The fact that chimpanzees treat not only themselves but also others suggests a level of social awareness that is too often underestimated. It hints at an empathic sensitivity that we typically reserve for our own species," said Christine Webb, a primatologist at Harvard University who was not involved in the research.

That said, scientists are still puzzled by the origins of this altruistic behaviour, especially given the fact that while chimp-to-chimp care is observed, it's not as widespread as it should be.

"If chimps sometimes know how to help others get out of snares, for example, why aren’t they helping all chimps get out? Why are they being selective about this care, and why do some chimps seem to warrant it, while others don’t?," asked Oxford primatologist Elodie Freymann, one of the researchers.

While the behaviour observed in the primates resemble the administering of first aid among modern humans, more research is needed to understand its origins and selectivity, the scientists said.