Wild Health
Re-released PAPERBACK & reformatted KINDLE NOW AVAILABLE 2021
How animals keep themselves well in the wild and what we can learn from them
Monkeys, bears, coatis and birds protect themselves from insect bites and fungal infections by rubbing bioactive plants and insect secretions into their skin. Chimpanzees carefully select bitter-tasting anti-parasitic plant medicines to deal with parasites. Elephants roam miles to find the clay they need to help counter dietary toxins, and birds line their nests with pungent medicinal leaves and so improve their chick’s chances of survival.
This book, now a classic text on animal self-medication, was the first on zoopharmacognosy back in 2001. It explores the behavioural strategies animals use to maintain health, many of which can be exploited to improve the health of animals in our care. By observing wild health we may even discover (or rediscover) ways to benefit out own health.
“Wild Health is a fascinating and enlightening view of how our closest relatives stay healthy. Secrets of nature deliciously told — so easily digestible that to absorb its benefits there’s no need to eat clay like the wild parrots Dr. Engel describes.”
“Cindy Engel’s book is a work of some scholarship!”
“Wild Health is absolutely enthralling! Cindy Engel explores the fascinating world of animal self-medication in this well-researched and engagingly written book. All the thousands of us who are turning increasingly to alternative medicine will find Wild Health particularly compelling.”
WILD HEALTH is Available in English, German, Korean, and Japanese
Articles on animal self-medication
My articles about animal health maintenance strategies have been published in The Financial Times Weekend, The Ecologist, The Guardian, The Mail on Sunday, and New Scientist. My scientific (peer-reviewed) articles have been published in Animal Behaviour and the Journal of Reproductive Biology. Below, are a few selected academic publications:
Engel, C (2006) ‘Livestock self-medication’ in Alternative Health Practices for Livestock, Eds T. F. Morris and M. T. Keilty (Blackwell Publishing) pp 54-61.
Engel, C (2002) ‘Acknowledging the Potential Role of Animal Self-medication’, Proceedings of the UK Organic Research Conference, Aberystwyth, Wales, Research in Context, pp 355-358. [available via academia.edu]
Engel, C (2006) ‘Zoopharmacognosy’ in Veterinary Herbal Medicine, Eds S.G. Wynn and B. J. Fougere, Mosby Elsevier Press, pp 7 - 16.