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You might have heard stories about the ongoing conflict in Asia and Africa between elephants and humans. It’s an issue that highlights elephants’ loss of their native habitats and their increasingly challenging attempts to find food and water. In their searches, the elephants have been known to destroy crops and homes along the way. But it turns out that they might not be looking for something to eat, and are instead seeking out the stems and leaves of banana and papaya plants. Mysteriously, the animals often leave the nutritious food broken and squished on the ground and not fully eaten. This tends to confuse and infuriate farmers who don’t understand why the elephants would dispose of the damaged fruit uneaten. This EleFact Friday, we’re going to look at why elephants might do such a thing. 

In a recent study, researchers partnered with farmers to evaluate the patterns of elephants who raid local crops. They would follow the elephants’ trails after they ate the farmers’ fruits and collect dung to study, analyzing for evidence of gut parasites, like worms. Researchers found that those with parasitic infections were 16% more likely to eat banana stems and 25% more likely to enjoy some papaya plants. We don’t know with certainty what benefits those plants offer, but they are understood to contain parasite-fighting compounds; banana leaf extract can kill certain parasites in sheep, and the fluid in papaya stems can sometimes help control gut parasites in chickens. 

In some Asian countries, mahouts–or elephant handlers–often release elephants into the wild temporarily when they’re feeling ill. They know that elephants tend to find what they need to cure ailments and can recover relatively quickly when left to graze on necessary plants. The mahouts will themselves use some of these same plants when they have certain health issues; for instance, they’ve learned that specific roots can help with diarrhea or poor appetite. Female elephants look for plants they know will help them with pregnancy and postpartum symptoms, which might be able to translate into help for humans. 

This information could contribute to a solution for the conflict between farmers and elephants. Currently, people often result to violence against elephants when they encounter them outside of their natural habitat, occasionally even employing poachers to help rid them of their “problem.” But, if this evidence regarding plant properties proves true, then communities might be able to mitigate crop damage by providing the elephants with other sources of vitamin and mineral treatments for parasites–like mineral salts. If that’s offered, the elephants might just leave crops alone. 

There’s a chance that this sort of knowledge could also impact human wellness. If it’s possible to transfer this sort of knowledge to human ailments that still need scientific investigation. If we can determine how elephants deal with such an illness, we could look into natural elements that could play a role in human healing from the same disease. 

If you’d like to read the full story, you can do so here: 

https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2688-8319.70141

Photo of Maia enjoying some grass from the habitat