Treating wounds with insects: the strange habits of Gabon chimps

用昆蟲治療傷口：加彭黑猩猩的奇怪習性

【摘要2022.2.21.一.自由】◎陳成良

How to treat a wound? For humans, the first instinct would be to disinfect it and then cover it with a bandage. But chimpanzees have invented a more creative method: catching insects and applying them directly to the open wound.

如何處理傷口？對於人類來說，第一反應是對其進行消毒，然後用繃帶包紮。但黑猩猩發明一種更有創意的方法：捕捉昆蟲並將牠們直接塗抹在開放性傷口上。

Scientists observed this behavior in chimpanzees in the West African nation of Gabon, noticing that the apes not only use insects to treat their own wounds, but also those of their peers.

科學家們在西非國家加彭的黑猩猩身上觀察到這種行為，並注意這些猿類不僅使用昆蟲來治療自己的傷口，還用來治療同伴。

The project began in 2019, when an adult female chimpanzee named Suzee was observed inspecting a wound on the foot of her adolescent son. Suzee then suddenly caught an insect out of the air, put it in her mouth, apparently squeezed it, and then applied it to her son’s wound.

這項研究計畫始於2019年，科學家當時觀察到一隻名叫蘇西（Suzee）的成年雌黑猩猩，正在檢查牠青少年兒子腳上的傷口。接著，蘇西突然從空中抓了一隻蟲子，放進嘴裡抿碎，然後敷在兒子的傷口上。

新聞辭典

disinfect：動詞，為…除菌，替…消毒。例句： Clean and disinfect your contact lens properly.（正確清潔及消毒隱形眼鏡。）

adolescent：形容詞，青春期的。例句：The adolescent period is one’s best time.（青少年時期是一個人最美好的時光。）