Animal Doctors (2014)
• January 1st, 2014 • 0h 55min
Documentary
Overview
Only twenty-five years ago, the first evidence of self-medicating behaviour among animals was reported among chimpanzees. On the basis of this pioneering research, led by the American Michael Huffman, a new science was founded: "zoopharmacognosy", or the study of animal pharmacopeia. Animals are apparently able to treat themselves actively, to detect natural substances that can provide a remedy for health problems, or to prevent them. The primatologist Michael Huffman explains how he discovered that chimpanzees can heal their diseases with medicinal plants from their environment. The scientist then comments on other very surprising examples: Birds that disinfect their nests by filling them with aromatic plants with repellent properties, a rodent that covers its coat with toxic sap as a poisonous defence against predators and elephants that place mud plasters on their injuries. Some therapeutic behaviours may even be transmitted socially among certain species.
Make sure to check your pop-up blocker!!
Trailer
Similar Movies
Lord Howe Island: Pacific Eden
Released on: 2006-12-31
Documentary
A place of biological superlatives with a flora and fauna that have only just begun to be researched...
Fire in the Forest
Released on: 2019-10-17
Documentary
The film shows the daily life of indigenous village Piyulaga, home of Waurá tribe --an ethnicity of ...
Pan
Released on:
Documentary, Fantasy, Mystery
A tactile exploration of the inherent duality of violence and sensuality in nature.
Fairy Shrimp
Released on: 2013-08-31
Documentary
Hidden deep within the Pony Pasture Rapids Park of Richmond, Virginia there lives a creature whose a...
Pelican Dreams
Released on: 2014-11-07
Documentary
Sundance-and-Emmy-Award-winning filmmaker Judy Irving (with her first film since the widely acclaime...
Pica Pica
Released on: 1987-03-14
Documentary
In Pica Pica Kristersson invites the viewer to be enthralled for an hour and a half by the vicissitu...
Elephant Whisperer
Released on: 2012-06-02
Documentary
Sangduen Chailert, or Lek, as she is generally known, has already rescued over 200 elephants. She ha...
Europas Paradiese
Released on: 1973-11-23
Documentary
Eugen Schuhmacher focuses on endangered and rare animal species such as the European bison and the N...
March of the Penguins
Released on: 2005-01-26
Documentary, Family
Every year, thousands of Antarctica's emperor penguins make an astonishing journey to breed their yo...
The Velvet Queen
Released on: 2021-12-15
Documentary
High up on the Tibetan plateau. Amongst unexplored and inaccessible valleys lies one of the last san...
An Inconvenient Truth
Released on: 2006-05-24
Documentary
A documentary on Al Gore's campaign to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwi...
Shark Gangs
Released on: 2021-07-16
Documentary
Scientists have discovered and investigate the reason behind the behavior of sharks swimming around ...
River of Grass
Released on: 2025-10-17
Documentary
An ode to the Florida Everglades, past and present, told through the prescient writings of Marjory S...
Microcosmos
Released on: 1996-09-06
Documentary
A documentary of insect life in meadows and ponds, using incredible close-ups, slow motion, and time...
Women Warriors
Released on: 2025-02-18
Documentary
Seven Latina climbers reflect on how the mountain has guided them through life’s toughest challenges...
Whale Wisdom
Released on: 2018-12-01
Documentary
Whales have long been a profound mystery to us. They live in a world so removed from our own that we...