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Doctors by Nature: How Ants, Apes, and Other Animals Heal Themselves
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.
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.
264 pages, Hardcover
First published March 4, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
April 8, 2025
Jaap de Roode is a professor of biology at Emory University whose research lab studies animal migration. In his 2025 book, Doctors by Nature, de Roode focuses on animal behaviors that, unwittingly or intentionally, have beneficial impacts on their health in their natural habitats -- like honeybee propolis ("bee glue") being antimicrobial for honeybee colonies, dogs eating grass to provide protection from parasites, caterpillars eating milkweed for similarly antiparasitic reasons, and cats going crazy for and rolling around in catnip as it may protect against mosquito bites. de Roode underpins these findings with the fact that many human medicines (homeopathic remedies as well as many mainstream antibiotics and anticancer drugs) have also been derived from natural sources, some of which were initially identified by humans observing animals' use of specific plants from which the active compounds were isolated and investigated. Some of the research detailed is de Roode's own, while other parts comes from other labs studying animal behavior in what sound to me like well-designed experiments; it fits in with the common thread of the evolutionary arms race of defenses and counter-defenses members of an ecosystem engage in for continued species survival (there are a lot of similar themes explored in Richard Dawkins' latest book The Genetic Book of the Dead: A Darwinian Reverie). I am not sure that calling this behavior doctoring is the best choice of wording (de Roode uses this phrase many times throughout the book, talking about how animals are natural doctors), as that implies a level of basic knowledge and intentionality underpinning acts that seem to be largely instinctual for animals; still, I found this an enjoyable, informative read.
Further reading: animal behavior, ecology, and the modern world
Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet by Ben Goldfarb | my review
Flight Paths: How a Passionate and Quirky Group of Pioneering Scientists Solved the Mystery of Bird Migration
The Secret Wisdom of Nature: Trees, Animals, and the Extraordinary Balance of All Living Things ― Stories from Science and Observation by Peter Wohlleben
My statistics:
Book 111 for 2025
Book 2037 cumulatively
Further reading: animal behavior, ecology, and the modern world
Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet by Ben Goldfarb | my review
Flight Paths: How a Passionate and Quirky Group of Pioneering Scientists Solved the Mystery of Bird Migration
The Secret Wisdom of Nature: Trees, Animals, and the Extraordinary Balance of All Living Things ― Stories from Science and Observation by Peter Wohlleben
My statistics:
Book 111 for 2025
Book 2037 cumulatively
September 15, 2025
This was part of my effort to read more nonfiction this year. All in all, I enjoyed it. Some parts felt a little repetitive but generally I thought it did a good job of explaining a niche but fascinating area of medicinal research.
April 27, 2026
Animal Healing
A neat read to play in the background as I work. Animals of all sorts, big and small, bugs and mammals, life finds a way to stay healthy or at least keep infections and parasites at bay. An arms race of evolution to get one up on the other. Not too long or detailed. Ends on a somber note about how humans need to take better care of Earth.
The more plants and flowers diversified increased their chemical makeup in order to keep away insects, lead in turn to the insects diversifying. It has a section about the bee populations succumbing to human made issues like pesticides and that without their presence many plant species would disappear. Other examples include bees making honey to cut back on parasites.
How and why isn't important but the function (what a behavior is for) and motivation (why an animal performs the behavior) IS. Motivation is hunger but the function is for growth.
The book talks about how plant diversity is important to gut health and healthy animals if you allow them to choose what they want to eat. Ants use resin, monkeys use toxic seed pits, birds use cigarettes, butterflies use toxic leaves to keep the good in and bad out.
They had an experiment of feeding dogs grass. They don't eat grass to induce vomiting, but may do so to aid in illness as they can not digest it or to purge their system.
A neat read to play in the background as I work. Animals of all sorts, big and small, bugs and mammals, life finds a way to stay healthy or at least keep infections and parasites at bay. An arms race of evolution to get one up on the other. Not too long or detailed. Ends on a somber note about how humans need to take better care of Earth.
The more plants and flowers diversified increased their chemical makeup in order to keep away insects, lead in turn to the insects diversifying. It has a section about the bee populations succumbing to human made issues like pesticides and that without their presence many plant species would disappear. Other examples include bees making honey to cut back on parasites.
How and why isn't important but the function (what a behavior is for) and motivation (why an animal performs the behavior) IS. Motivation is hunger but the function is for growth.
The book talks about how plant diversity is important to gut health and healthy animals if you allow them to choose what they want to eat. Ants use resin, monkeys use toxic seed pits, birds use cigarettes, butterflies use toxic leaves to keep the good in and bad out.
They had an experiment of feeding dogs grass. They don't eat grass to induce vomiting, but may do so to aid in illness as they can not digest it or to purge their system.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 7, 2025
This just wasn’t my book. I learned that dogs eat grass because they are trying to cleanse their digestive system of parasites, and not because they have a tummy ache and want to vomit. So they don’t chew the leaves and the little buggies get pooped out on the leaves I guess. Otherwise, this book was a description of the researcher’s experiences, and I just didn’t have patience for the long stories. I gave it three stars because someone else might find all of those long stories really interesting. Nothing wrong with the book, just not my book.
December 15, 2025
Fantastic read about animals using plants (and sometimes other things) for self-medication, and how a lot of modern medicine and ethnomedicine derived from the observations of these animals. The author does a good job of explaining information and pacing the book!
May 22, 2026
Super interesting topic! It felt a little repetitive at points, but worth a read.
August 17, 2025
Ciekawa, dająca ogrom wiedzy w pigułce, jednak polskie podtytuły rozdziałów są dość mylące - niby mamy rozdział o psach, a więcej tam o innych zwierzętach niż o samych psach. Czasami wracaliśmy do informacji, które już się pojawiały w książce, ale ogólnie całościowo - naprawdę ciekawa lektura ☺️
June 12, 2026
3.5 stars
"Doctors by Nature" is an exploration of a simple but profound idea: humans are not the only species that practice medicine. Drawing from decades of research in ecology, evolution, biochemistry and animal behavior, the author Jaap de Roode shows that many animals actively seek out substances that prevent (prophylactic use) or treat (therapeutic) disease, often in ways that mirror human use of medicine.
One of the most unexpected and interesting examples is that of monarch butterflies, which lay their eggs on milkweed species whose chemical compounds help protect their offspring from parasites. Similar fascinating stories are interspersed in the book. Ants and bees use antimicrobial resins to safeguard their colonies, birds fumigate their nests with leaves rom certain plans to reduce parasites, and even urban sparrows and finches line their nests with cigarette butts because the nicotine helps control mites that threaten their chicks. Cats coat themselves with catnip-derived chemicals that repel mosquitoes, while animals as diverse as vampire bats, guppies, ants, and finches practice forms of social distancing to reduce the spread of disease - similar to human during Covid-19 pandemic.
The book connects these behaviors to traditional human knowledge of plants and their medicinal properties. Long before modern science documented animal self-medication, indigenous healers and shamans often learned about medicinal plants by observing wildlife and their interaction with plants. The book makes a persuasive case that nature (through evolution and selection) itself has long been conducting experiments in pharmacology, and that scientists continue to discover new medicines by studying animal behavior.
The deeper thread through the narrative though about evolution and genetics. Parasites and hosts are locked in a perpetual arms race. Similarly plants have evolved chemical defenses against insects, fungi, and grazing animals. Many of the toxins produced by plants can function as both medicines and poisons depending on dosage - a point illustrated by caffeine, which can act as a stimulant in small amounts and a toxin in large ones. Similarly the use of morphine to treat pain though in larger quantities can cause addiction.
Beyond the science, the book left me with a renewed appreciation for how interconnected life is and how human intervention is threatening this delicate balance. Evolution has shaped not only our biology but also our behaviors, our capacity for social learning, and even our instinctive responses to illness. The book is an reminder that medicine probably did not begin with humans and is woven into the fabric of life itself.
"Doctors by Nature" is an exploration of a simple but profound idea: humans are not the only species that practice medicine. Drawing from decades of research in ecology, evolution, biochemistry and animal behavior, the author Jaap de Roode shows that many animals actively seek out substances that prevent (prophylactic use) or treat (therapeutic) disease, often in ways that mirror human use of medicine.
One of the most unexpected and interesting examples is that of monarch butterflies, which lay their eggs on milkweed species whose chemical compounds help protect their offspring from parasites. Similar fascinating stories are interspersed in the book. Ants and bees use antimicrobial resins to safeguard their colonies, birds fumigate their nests with leaves rom certain plans to reduce parasites, and even urban sparrows and finches line their nests with cigarette butts because the nicotine helps control mites that threaten their chicks. Cats coat themselves with catnip-derived chemicals that repel mosquitoes, while animals as diverse as vampire bats, guppies, ants, and finches practice forms of social distancing to reduce the spread of disease - similar to human during Covid-19 pandemic.
The book connects these behaviors to traditional human knowledge of plants and their medicinal properties. Long before modern science documented animal self-medication, indigenous healers and shamans often learned about medicinal plants by observing wildlife and their interaction with plants. The book makes a persuasive case that nature (through evolution and selection) itself has long been conducting experiments in pharmacology, and that scientists continue to discover new medicines by studying animal behavior.
The deeper thread through the narrative though about evolution and genetics. Parasites and hosts are locked in a perpetual arms race. Similarly plants have evolved chemical defenses against insects, fungi, and grazing animals. Many of the toxins produced by plants can function as both medicines and poisons depending on dosage - a point illustrated by caffeine, which can act as a stimulant in small amounts and a toxin in large ones. Similarly the use of morphine to treat pain though in larger quantities can cause addiction.
Beyond the science, the book left me with a renewed appreciation for how interconnected life is and how human intervention is threatening this delicate balance. Evolution has shaped not only our biology but also our behaviors, our capacity for social learning, and even our instinctive responses to illness. The book is an reminder that medicine probably did not begin with humans and is woven into the fabric of life itself.
June 13, 2025
very informative and accurate. I study some of this work at my university, and this book reported it well. there were aspects that were a bit hard to read because they had so much information at once. otherwise, it's easily digestible and a fun subject to learn about! would 100% recommend (and have)
library-priority
October 22, 2025short and new (in an evolving field) - I hope to get to it soon....
March 9, 2026
A bit redundant at times but a very interesting read
January 17, 2026
Een erg goed boek over het medicijngebruik door dieren en hoe mensen daar ook van kunnen leren.
July 18, 2025
I enjoyed this book by Emoroid De Roode, sciency with notes from peer-reviewed sources, but written without technobabble. I liked the controlled experiments that can be carried out in the wild. I never thought catnip would turn out to be a mosquito repellant, in fact, never thought of cats as being mosquito victims. The whole section on the foodscapes was pretty important if it can lead to less use of livestock medicines that then become resistant to pests. I was a bit surprised domesticated food animals still had instincts about medicinal plants. I liked the research showing that animals do not ingest medicines when not sick - I guess only humans do that. And I liked the image of St Marks NWR during monarch migration: "thousands flying through the refuge, feasting on the nectar of the abundant salt bushes and other flowering plants." It's a magical place even without monarchs.
December 1, 2025
An inspiringly pleasant read about an oft-ignored niche of science, de Roode explores the holistic habits and medicinal practices of several different animals across the world, from the highly-intelligent chimpanzees of central Africa to finches in Mexico and ant colonies in Switzerland. Calling on research and field studies - some of them first hand - the breadth of animal healing using plants, herbs and man-made substances like cigarette butts are explored with great analysis and knowledge, presenting a good argument as to why humanity should continue to - and increase the interest towards - its study of animal cures, in the hopes of helping humanity with its own ailment-filled existence.
There is also, as with many books of this type, a turn to the conversation around climate-change and the destruction of our natural environments towards the end of the book. It is an important argument to make and a good thing to highlight, and I give credit to de Roode for including in that argument the threat of losing medicinal knowledge in rural communities as they transition away from their ancient oral languages too. It's something I imagine I and many others like me would otherwise overlook in the big-picture politics of the changing climate.
But the whole chapter felt like an afterthought, and didn't explore fully the studies and insight that de Roode provided throughout the book. It felt alarmist: there were more statistics and IUCN reports than there were actual points to be made. I feel that, had de Roode placed an impetus on "the natural world could hold the cure to humanity's problems, but we're losing those cures because we're killing the animals and plants that have them", the conclusion would have felt more concise and connected to the overall narrative given in the book. It was not enough to take away from the book itself - which is fantastic and I highly recommend to anyone with an interest in science, nature or animals - but it was worth highlighting.
Overall, a very good book!
There is also, as with many books of this type, a turn to the conversation around climate-change and the destruction of our natural environments towards the end of the book. It is an important argument to make and a good thing to highlight, and I give credit to de Roode for including in that argument the threat of losing medicinal knowledge in rural communities as they transition away from their ancient oral languages too. It's something I imagine I and many others like me would otherwise overlook in the big-picture politics of the changing climate.
But the whole chapter felt like an afterthought, and didn't explore fully the studies and insight that de Roode provided throughout the book. It felt alarmist: there were more statistics and IUCN reports than there were actual points to be made. I feel that, had de Roode placed an impetus on "the natural world could hold the cure to humanity's problems, but we're losing those cures because we're killing the animals and plants that have them", the conclusion would have felt more concise and connected to the overall narrative given in the book. It was not enough to take away from the book itself - which is fantastic and I highly recommend to anyone with an interest in science, nature or animals - but it was worth highlighting.
Overall, a very good book!
June 29, 2026
“Zoopharmacognosy” is the scientific study of how animals self-medicate using plants, insects, fungi, and natural resins to treat and prevent illness. I listened to this book on audio so I’m sure a lot of it went in one ear and out the other, but the main gist goes as follows:
* Cats: rub their face in catnip (not just for the euphoric effect) but also to repel mosquitos. This also led to research for human-usable insect repellant. Animals can point us to the right direction for human drugs. Good kitty!
* Apes: dislodge worms by swallowing very roughly textured leaves, which practically scratch out the parasites
* Wood Ants and Honey Bees: put sticky conifer resin into their hives in order to fight pathogens by sterilizing the environment for the young
* Sparrows: use cigarette butts in their nests because nicotine repels mites
* Monarch Butterflies: practice trans-generation medicine. When infected with a parasite, the mothers choose to lay their eggs on a highly toxic medicinal milkweed ensuring that her offspring have a better chance of survival. This goes to show that you don’t have to have a complex brain to practice good parenting and ensure your species thrives.
Other key points:
The question rises whether self-medication is innate or passed down. Social interactions (e.g. among chimps) can play an important role as animals can learn a lot by observation.
Extinction rates is a problem of climate change, deforestation, and exploitation. We are forcing animals into habitats and preventing them from self-medication. Fewer animals means fewer animal “doctors.”
Humans aren’t necessarily stewards of the world but merely members of a large animal family where we can learn from each other.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
* Cats: rub their face in catnip (not just for the euphoric effect) but also to repel mosquitos. This also led to research for human-usable insect repellant. Animals can point us to the right direction for human drugs. Good kitty!
* Apes: dislodge worms by swallowing very roughly textured leaves, which practically scratch out the parasites
* Wood Ants and Honey Bees: put sticky conifer resin into their hives in order to fight pathogens by sterilizing the environment for the young
* Sparrows: use cigarette butts in their nests because nicotine repels mites
* Monarch Butterflies: practice trans-generation medicine. When infected with a parasite, the mothers choose to lay their eggs on a highly toxic medicinal milkweed ensuring that her offspring have a better chance of survival. This goes to show that you don’t have to have a complex brain to practice good parenting and ensure your species thrives.
Other key points:
The question rises whether self-medication is innate or passed down. Social interactions (e.g. among chimps) can play an important role as animals can learn a lot by observation.
Extinction rates is a problem of climate change, deforestation, and exploitation. We are forcing animals into habitats and preventing them from self-medication. Fewer animals means fewer animal “doctors.”
Humans aren’t necessarily stewards of the world but merely members of a large animal family where we can learn from each other.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
September 30, 2025
4 sterren , het thema van het boek leek me wel logisch , de verhalen en voorbeelden in het boek vond ik wel leuk om te lezen maar helemaal op het puntje van mijn stoel ervoor zitten deden deze niet ,
Ik weet niet wanneer het vroegste organisme op aarde ziek werd of gewond raakte , misschien is het verschil tussen ziek en gewond wel dat ziek dan eerder veroorzaakt wordt door een levend iets waarbij er ruzie ontstaat over energie en dat gewond (letsel)dan eerder veroorzaakt wordt door een minder levend iets waarbij geen gevecht is om energie , ……
Dit gebeurde waarschijnlijk al lang geleden , planten raken ook ziek en gewond , …. En dan wordt het een speurtocht om eventueel beter te worden , en dat ieder organisme daarvoor op zoek gaat , en ook mss deze informatie in geheugencellen heeft of leert van soortgenoten lijkt mij ook logisch , En dat er daarbij kan gespiekt worden over soortgrenzen lijkt mij ook logisch , ……
Het moeilijke is dan waarschijnlijk dat ieder lichaam iets anders is samengesteld en (iets ) anders kan reageren , De zoektocht wordt dan wat persoonlijker, met het geluk dat er artsen , verpleegkundigen zijn die dan over heel wat meer informatie/ kennis bezitten , om deze zoektocht verder te zetten , ……. Zowel bij letsel waarbij het meer het lichaam zelf is als bij ziekte waarbij er meer een ander organisme betrokken is , . …. Er komen waarschijnlijk ook nieuwe ziektes bij …. En daarbij kan er ook gekeken worden naar andere organismen hoe zij daarmee omgaan ,
4 sterren een vlot lezend boek over een zoektocht naar genezing bij verschillende soorten ,
Ik weet niet wanneer het vroegste organisme op aarde ziek werd of gewond raakte , misschien is het verschil tussen ziek en gewond wel dat ziek dan eerder veroorzaakt wordt door een levend iets waarbij er ruzie ontstaat over energie en dat gewond (letsel)dan eerder veroorzaakt wordt door een minder levend iets waarbij geen gevecht is om energie , ……
Dit gebeurde waarschijnlijk al lang geleden , planten raken ook ziek en gewond , …. En dan wordt het een speurtocht om eventueel beter te worden , en dat ieder organisme daarvoor op zoek gaat , en ook mss deze informatie in geheugencellen heeft of leert van soortgenoten lijkt mij ook logisch , En dat er daarbij kan gespiekt worden over soortgrenzen lijkt mij ook logisch , ……
Het moeilijke is dan waarschijnlijk dat ieder lichaam iets anders is samengesteld en (iets ) anders kan reageren , De zoektocht wordt dan wat persoonlijker, met het geluk dat er artsen , verpleegkundigen zijn die dan over heel wat meer informatie/ kennis bezitten , om deze zoektocht verder te zetten , ……. Zowel bij letsel waarbij het meer het lichaam zelf is als bij ziekte waarbij er meer een ander organisme betrokken is , . …. Er komen waarschijnlijk ook nieuwe ziektes bij …. En daarbij kan er ook gekeken worden naar andere organismen hoe zij daarmee omgaan ,
4 sterren een vlot lezend boek over een zoektocht naar genezing bij verschillende soorten ,
January 25, 2026
Well-written and delightful read. The book walks us through many examples of medicine-seeking behaviors in animals. The author, an expert in host-parasite interactions, carefully lays out the scientific principles required to conclude that animals have evolved medication seeking behaviors. We see the scientific method unfold across beautiful anecdotes of scientists who were inspired by the natural world. These scientists make an observation, develop a question, form a hypothesis, then test that hypothesis. The author repeatedly demonstrates this scientific method in a way that can captivate even the most unenthusiastic student of science. Most readers won't even recognize they are reading countless examples of this scientific process.
As a scientist myself, this book has reminded me that some of the best science comes from observations of the natural history of the organisms we study. It has inspired many ideas for own lab. Lastly, the book has given me hope that there are still hidden answers buried in nature for the treatment of human diseases. And there are scientists out there using cues from animals and ancient cultures to find new medications that can help us combat rising antibiotic resistance and find solutions for diseases for which we current have limited options. This book is definitely worth the read!
As a scientist myself, this book has reminded me that some of the best science comes from observations of the natural history of the organisms we study. It has inspired many ideas for own lab. Lastly, the book has given me hope that there are still hidden answers buried in nature for the treatment of human diseases. And there are scientists out there using cues from animals and ancient cultures to find new medications that can help us combat rising antibiotic resistance and find solutions for diseases for which we current have limited options. This book is definitely worth the read!
June 7, 2026
DNF about 50%. While the bar is very low, I was at first relieved to hear a biologist even mention that some animal research is unethical. He discussed how insects are used to avoid this, which I have complicated feelings about. He discussed ethical barriers with primates. Then about halfway through seems to do a 180 and starts discussing cruel rat studies in a fascinated manner with no concern for their suffering. He doesn't even mention that rats can't vomit in studies where they're injected with nausea inducing chemicals. I decided to stop when he got to rat poison with no mention of the absolute torture of having ones organs slowly dissolve inside of you over a period of days. It's just tough to poison them since they figure it out so here's a solution! If he cares so much about other animals even if he didn't care about rats maybe he'd mention the poisoning of everyone else in the process such as birds of prey.
Whatever, it's accessibly written and interesting but I'm not interested in finding out if I have to sit through another avalanche of animal suffering to learn more. YMMV.
Whatever, it's accessibly written and interesting but I'm not interested in finding out if I have to sit through another avalanche of animal suffering to learn more. YMMV.
September 16, 2025
This book is very informative, and depending on your interests, will teach you many things you likely didn't know about the animal world.
When I first picked up the book, I thought it would be a very textbook-style novel teaching you about the various ways animals medicate themselves. But after the first few pages, I found that although it was a nonfiction, it was written in a way that made it seem like a narrative. This made the book more appealing, especially because I am interested in the animal world, and normally do not read nonfictions.
This book uses many scientific words, but includes definitions for all of them, which I thought was very helpful. It touches upon the many ways animals can heal and medicate themselves; hence the title. It gave many examples in which animals in the wild were found to be able to heal themselves through various methods, mostly without human intervention.
All in all, this book is fascinating in the way that it explains each case of zoopharmacognosy, which is a term that means the behavior of animals self-medicating, included in the book. It also gives reasoning and evidence behind each scenario in an easy to digest way.
When I first picked up the book, I thought it would be a very textbook-style novel teaching you about the various ways animals medicate themselves. But after the first few pages, I found that although it was a nonfiction, it was written in a way that made it seem like a narrative. This made the book more appealing, especially because I am interested in the animal world, and normally do not read nonfictions.
This book uses many scientific words, but includes definitions for all of them, which I thought was very helpful. It touches upon the many ways animals can heal and medicate themselves; hence the title. It gave many examples in which animals in the wild were found to be able to heal themselves through various methods, mostly without human intervention.
All in all, this book is fascinating in the way that it explains each case of zoopharmacognosy, which is a term that means the behavior of animals self-medicating, included in the book. It also gives reasoning and evidence behind each scenario in an easy to digest way.
July 9, 2025
As a nature lover, I picked this up for the topic was totally appealing. I rose to the thought that it might include less about ants and more about other big animals like Elephants or Lions. I guess that research works best if one does the ants and aphids, and bees that are small enough to work with hundreds and thousands and have a good sample than trying to research a few huge animals. So, as you can guess, it showed how those tiny animals could get parasites and disease and would choose the plants that would best cure themselves within the groups of plants available to them. And so it went, graduating to larger and larger big animal censuses, especially sheep and goats with a few dogs thrown in.
Time after time, each species, including our own (people) as indigenous healers' knowledge was passed along, when left alone and not given processed foods, animals preferred bitter but healing plants when given the opportunity if they were suffering an illness or had parasites.
Time after time, each species, including our own (people) as indigenous healers' knowledge was passed along, when left alone and not given processed foods, animals preferred bitter but healing plants when given the opportunity if they were suffering an illness or had parasites.
January 24, 2026
“Doctors by Nature” offers an elegant inversion of our place in medicine: rather than inventors of healing, we are late apprentices to a much older pharmacy. De Roode shows that animal self-medication is not a curious exception but an evolutionary rule — caterpillars, ants, birds, and mammals make precise therapeutic choices, often at a cost, shaped by parasites, toxins, and contingency. The book is especially strong in dismantling the anthropocentric bias that links medical care to large brains or conscious intention, revealing instead an intelligence distributed across bodies, behaviors, and environments. Without romanticizing nature, de Roode emphasizes the ambivalence of healing: every remedy is also a poison, every choice involves risk. It is a stimulating and well-grounded read that expands the notion of health beyond the human and suggests, with ethical restraint, that preserving biodiversity also means preserving medical knowledge we do not yet know we need.
May 28, 2025
3.5 rounded up. As someone who is not in any sort of related field to this topic, I quickly realized this book was mostly going to be a source of 'fun facts' to me. However I am a lifelong pet-haver who is personally interested in animal intelligence, and I can say Doctors by Nature kept me vested! I did think there was room for improvement on the recurring topic of Indigenous medicine & relationship to the natural world/how it's subsumed and even disregarded for the sake of western 'discovery'—perhaps in general I found the passages on potential solutions to effects of the climate crisis a bit weak. But nonetheless I enjoyed this book a lot and found the author's narrative voice a good balance of academic and casual such that a layman like me could fairly fully engage with this text.
May 6, 2025
Super cool book that explores why plants produce medicine and how animals can possibly know to use them. It promotes giving animals under our control more freedom of choice so they can self medicate and get the nutrition they need. One star reduction for promoting the honey bee industry in the US rather than noting that they are non native species that are the number one cause of native bee extinction. And for promoting eating pigs and chickens over cows for climate reasons, rather than promoting the elimination of meat and dairy consumption.
August 5, 2025
"Doctors by Nature: How Ants, Apes, and Other Animals Heal Themselves" is a fascinating book that eloquently conveys the many ways that animals self (and socially) medicate. By blending engaging storytelling, personal narrative, and scientific inquiry, Dr. Jaap de Roode provides a refreshing perspective on evolution. His book doesn’t overcomplicate or use fancy jargon, but instead uses approachable language so that scientists, non-scientists, and budding scientists may understand the inner-workings of these amazing animal behaviors. Definitely recommend!
March 1, 2025
Doctors by Nature: How Ants, Apes, and Other Animals Heal Themselves is a fascinating book. On every page, we learn the stories of animals and insects who use the natural world to treat and prevent diseases, and how much we can --and must-- learn from them.
April 9, 2025
A great book for anyone who loves nature and animals. It's the perfect length, with just enough information for you to actually retain everything. This book would also be great for any health care practitioner. I have a background in holistic nutrition and a lot of the topics covered can be related back to what I know and studied.
Everything was fascinating and I truly enjoyed taking my time to read this book.
Everything was fascinating and I truly enjoyed taking my time to read this book.
May 28, 2025
Incredibly well researched and well written. This is one of my favorite non-fiction books so far this year not just for the information but for how easily it captured my attention. It gives credence not just to animals ability to look out for themselves, and the importance of traditional medicine, but delves into some fascinating nature and nurture questions, innate behaviors, and how maybe it wasn't animals who forgot how to medicate themselves, but the other 3 billion of us on the planet.
July 19, 2025
Nieuwe onderbouwde perspectieven, kritisch op de moderne medische tunnelvisie, fantastische verhalen en voorbeelden uit veld onderzoek.
Dit boek leert je niet alleen over dieren die natuurlijke medicatie gebruiken, maar legt ook uit waarom, hoe ze er achter zijn gekomen en welke inzichten en verbanden dit voor andere onderzoeken heeft opgeleverd.
Er is nog zo veel dat wij niet weten van de natuur terwijl het ook nog eens constant blijft evolueren. Dit boek soort boeken maken het toegankelijk hierover op de hoogte te blijven. Geweldig boek!
Dit boek leert je niet alleen over dieren die natuurlijke medicatie gebruiken, maar legt ook uit waarom, hoe ze er achter zijn gekomen en welke inzichten en verbanden dit voor andere onderzoeken heeft opgeleverd.
Er is nog zo veel dat wij niet weten van de natuur terwijl het ook nog eens constant blijft evolueren. Dit boek soort boeken maken het toegankelijk hierover op de hoogte te blijven. Geweldig boek!
November 29, 2025
Zwierzęta (i to wszystkich gromad) do zawsze potrafiły wykorzystywać rośliny by się leczyć lub uodparniać. A my ludzie w swoim zadufaniu o naszej wyższości przez wiele lat nie tylko byliśmy na to ślepi, ale niszcząc naturalne siedliska uniemożliwialiśmy zwierzętom korzystania z dobrodziejstw natury.
Książka pokazuje najnowsze badania w dziedzinie samoleczenia zwierząt oraz apeluje o szacunek dla tych zjawiskbi dla całej natury.
Książka pokazuje najnowsze badania w dziedzinie samoleczenia zwierząt oraz apeluje o szacunek dla tych zjawiskbi dla całej natury.
March 30, 2026
actual rating 3.5/5
I guess I can file this one "objectively good but it didn't hook me personally".
Definitely a very educative read about natural medicine in the realm of animals, but it also got repetetive after a while (Chausiku the chimp is brought up in roughly the same context VERY often) and something about the topic didn't interest me as much as I'd hoped. Still, it's pretty solid overall.
I guess I can file this one "objectively good but it didn't hook me personally".
Definitely a very educative read about natural medicine in the realm of animals, but it also got repetetive after a while (Chausiku the chimp is brought up in roughly the same context VERY often) and something about the topic didn't interest me as much as I'd hoped. Still, it's pretty solid overall.
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