Doctors by Nature

How Ants, Apes, and Other Animals Heal Themselves

Jaap de Roode

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Year: 2025
• Print ISBN:
  9780691239354
  9780691239248
• eBook ISBN:
  9780691239255
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Medical Theory, Practice & Reference
• Index: Biological Sciences

The astonishing story of how animals use medicine and what it can teach us about healing ourselves

Ages before the dawn of modern medicine, wild animals were harnessing the power of nature’s pharmacy to heal themselves. Doctors by Nature reveals what researchers are now learning about the medical wonders of the animal world. In this visionary book, Jaap de Roode argues that we have underestimated the healing potential of nature for too long and shows how the study of self-medicating animals could impact the practice of human medicine.

Drawing on illuminating interviews with leading scientists from around the globe as well as his own pioneering research on monarch butterflies, de Roode demonstrates how animals of all kinds—from ants to apes, from bees to bears, and from cats to caterpillars—use various forms of medicine to treat their own ailments and those of their relatives. We meet apes that swallow leaves to dislodge worms, sparrows that use cigarette butts to repel parasites, and bees that incorporate sticky resin into their hives to combat pathogens. De Roode asks whether these astonishing behaviors are learned or innate and explains why, now more than ever, we need to apply the lessons from medicating animals—it can pave the way for healthier livestock, more sustainable habitats for wild pollinators, and a host of other benefits.

Doctors by Nature takes readers into a realm often thought to be the exclusive domain of humans, exploring how scientists are turning to the medical knowledge of the animal kingdom to improve agriculture, create better lives for our pets, and develop new pharmaceutical drugs.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Disclaimer
• 1. Birds, Bees, and Butterflies
• 2. Chimp Chausiku
• 3. Parasites and Pathogens
• 4. Beetles and Bulldogs
• 5. Birds and Butts
• 6. Ants and Aliens
• 7. Poisons and Proteins
• 8. Living and Learning
• 9. Woolly Wisdom
• 10. Sticky Bee Business
• 11. Dogs Are Dogs
• 12. Elephant Educators
• 13. Cats and Catnip
• 14. Plants and Pollinators
• Acknowledgments
• Notes
• Index