Mud may help monkey avoid stomach aches

摘要

ARE there merits to munching mud? Some monkeys seem to go out of their way to add it to their standard diet of leaves, fruits and insects. In Amazonian Peru, one primate species seems to use mud medicinally, possibly to prevent stomach upsets. Why some monkeys eat mud has been much debated - they might use it to kill parasites, for example, or to get minerals lacking in their diet. "Many previous reports involved just a few sightings, or come from accidental encounters," explains Dara Adams at the Ohio State University in Columbus, who led the study. "We were really focused on answering this question, and that seems to have made the difference."