India, Oct. 28 -- Chimpanzees in Uganda have been observed using flying insects to treat their wounds, a behavior that suggests a deliberate and possibly medicinal approach to injury care.

This discovery highlights the cognitive abilities of chimpanzees and offers insights into the evolutionary roots of empathy and caregiving, as they sometimes apply insects to the wounds of others.

Animals respond to injury in many ways. So far, evidence for animals tending wounds with biologically active materials is rare. Yet, a recent study of an orangutan treating a wound with a medicinal plant provides a promising lead.

Chimpanzees, for example, are known to lick their wounds and sometimes press leaves onto them, but these behaviours are still on...