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"Chimps use herbs"

KAMPALA (UGANDA): Chimpanzees eat plants similar to the ones used by traditional healers to treat malaria and diarrhoea, researchers have said. Sabrina Krief, a researcher at Kibale National Park in western Uganda, was quoted by New Vision on Saturday as revealing her findings that chimps are able to choose the right plants for their sickness. In the five-year research at Kanyawara research station at the edge of Kibale, Ms Krief found that chimps carefully select plants like mululuza that have medicinal properties that help them overcome malaria, diarrhoea and expel worms from their intestines. ``It was stunning to see that traditional healers use the same plants to treat the diseases," she said. — Xinhua

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