Kenyan elephants use 35 medicinal plant species to treat illness, study finds

Field observations on Mount Elgon

African elephants on the eastern slopes of Mount Elgon, an extinct 4,321-meter volcano spanning the Kenya-Uganda border, intentionally consume wild vegetation to treat physical ailments. A research team from Brown University, the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg, and the Mount Elgon Foundation documented the behavior in the journal Scientific Reports. The study drew on structured interviews conducted between September 2023 and October 2024 with eight members of the indigenous Sabaot community. The informants included wildlife scouts, park rangers, a retired agricultural officer, and community elders, all possessing more than 20 years of field observation experience. These elephants are already recognized for entering subterranean caves to scrape mineral-laden rock walls with their tusks. The new data demonstrates that the animals also rely on the surrounding mountain jungle as a natural pharmacy.

Documented botanical species and calf care

The investigation identified 35 plant species consumed by the elephants in specific health contexts, with 25 of those matching remedies used in local human traditional medicine. Informants reported that unwell elephants sought out specific leaves and roots when exhibiting signs of physical distress, lethargy, loss of appetite, or digestive troubles. For eight of these plant species, witness testimonies described targeted therapeutic applications by individual elephants or mothers caring for offspring. In one documented instance involving a plant known locally as Angurweet, used in human traditional medicine for stomach aches, wildlife scouts observed female elephants preparing doses for sick calves. The mother stripped the foliage, chewed the stem together with other tree roots until smooth, blended the mixture in her mouth with her own milk, and fed it to the calf, which chewed the liquid and spat out the fibrous solids.

Historical records and scientific validation

Observations of zoopharmacognosy in elephants date back to the early third century, when Roman writer Claudius Aelian described in De Natura Animalium a wounded elephant consuming olive blossoms and oil before recovering. To establish modern physical proof, the research team equipped local scouts and guides with video cameras to capture continuous footage of the elusive animals in the dense forest canopy. Primatologist Michael Huffman of Nagasaki University noted that the accounts of mothers medicating calves are tantalising, while emphasizing that direct visual evidence remains essential to confirm intentional allomedication. Lead author Elodie Freymann noted that the study connects animal health directly to forest preservation.

This shows just how entangled our medicines are with the non-human world.

Laboratory screening for novel compounds

Field teams collected physical specimens of the flora identified during the interviews to conduct biochemical screenings at the Bernhard Nocht Institute in Germany. Researchers are testing these plant extracts to isolate active chemical compounds that could have applications in veterinary science and human pharmacology. Lead researcher Fabien Schultz explained that the Sabaot community provided a structured catalog of candidate plants, including their geographical locations, specific parts used, and targeted health contexts. The project is now moving into a systematic testing phase to evaluate the biological mechanisms and therapeutic properties of each collected specimen.

Local knowledge has given us a map.