In 2019, chimpanzees were discovered performing first aid on each other in Budongo Forest, Uganda. A study published this May, in 2025, further documented 34 incidents of self care and 7 cases of care for others. For example, scientists observed chimpanzees licking wounds and applying chewed up plant matter to wounds. Scientists are not sure how much of this is instinct and how much is learned.

Chimpanzees are a species of primates closely related to humans. Due to their similar nature with humans, researchers have been studying them closely, especially how they care for injuries. Scientists have long known that they use leaves and insects as medicine. Now, they have also discovered that the chimpanzees help each other with “first aid.”

Dr. Elodie Freymann, a primatologist, traveled to Uganda in 2021 to study the chimpanzees. She wanted to learn how the chimps took care of themselves when they got hurt. While researching, Dr. Freymann noticed some stories about chimps caring for themselves and other chimpanzees. She and her team decided to browse through notes about chimps in the region of Uganda and also studied the chimps’ habits in detail.

After 8 months of direct observation, the researchers discovered 34 cases of chimpanzees treating their own wounds and seven cases of the chimpanzees helping others.

The forms of self-care were often relatively basic. For example, the chimpanzees would lick their wounds and apply leaves to clean it. However, there were also instances of slightly more complex methods. Some advanced chimps would “chew the plants up, and then apply the chewed material to the open injury,” Dr. Freymann says. Chewing plants can prevent the wound from infection, according to BBC. Some chimpanzees have chemicals in their spit that disinfect the wound, and so do some plants such as Acalypha species and Christella parasitica.

The seven cases of helping others happened in different scenarios. In one case, a male chimpanzee was helping a younger chimp clean a wound by sucking on his leg injury. In another instance, a male chimpanzee helped a female chimp get out of a trap that caught her. These two were not related.

The scientists think that some of these behaviors come from instinct. However, other more complicated actions seem to be learned. For example, a female chimp was seen chewing a leaf and putting it on her own wound. The daughter saw, and immediately did the same thing to her mother.

An animal trying to help another is relatively rare, but chimpanzees have exhibited this ability. Their behaviors suggest that they can tell when another chimp needs help.

Sources:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce994dv9q4eo

https://newsforkids.net/articles/2025/06/04/chimps-perform-first-aid-on-each-other/