Elephants in Gabon may be self-medicating (Credit: Animalsurvival.org)

Farmers in Gabon, West Africa, often wake up to find their farms raided by elephants. In some cases, the animals feed on the leaves and stems of plants, but leave the fruit behind. Steeve Ngama, a local conservation scientist, was curious about this unusual behavior. He decided to investigate.

Previous studies had found that elephants in Asia sometimes use plants to treat illness. This led Ngama to wonder whether elephants in Gabon might also be doing the same. Working with local farmers, he tracked elephant activity after farm raids. He collected elephant dung and samples of the plants they had eaten.

Papaya plants have special compounds that help fight stomach parasites (Credit: Pixnio/ CCO)

After analyzing the samples, Ngama found a clear pattern. Elephants with signs of gut parasites were more likely to feed on certain plants during crop raids. In particular, they were 16 percent more likely to eat banana leaves and 25 percent more likely to nibble on papaya stems.

Both banana and papaya plants contain compounds that may help fight stomach parasites. This suggests the elephants may have learned that these plants help them recover. These social animals likely pass this knowledge to other members of their group over time.

For villagers, however, the damage is serious. A single raid can destroy all crops, taking away food and income. As a result, some farmers try to scare elephants away or even kill them.

Elephants pass on their healing knowledge to other members of their group (Credit: Vaughan Leiberum/ CC BY SA-2.0/ Flickr)

Ngama hopes his research can help reduce this conflict. If elephants are partly looking for certain plants to stay healthy, giving them other sources of those plants could reduce farm raids. It could also change how locals see elephants.

“They are really intelligent animals, and we have a lot to learn from them,” Ngama says. “Then there will be more [efforts] to coexist with elephants.”

Ngama’s findings were published in Ecological Solutions and Evidence in late 2025. The study adds to a growing body of research on animal self-medication. Other scientists have observed similar behavior in chimpanzees and orangutans. These animals use plants to treat illnesses and even heal wounds.

Resources: Smithsonianmag.edu, besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com