Jumbo poo is good for you by Fiona Macleod Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) - March 7, 2003 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elephants in the Knysna forest are medicating themselves with "magic mushrooms" that could be used by people to counter the effects of HIV. Research shows the elephants are eating a type of mushroom called Ganoderma applanatum, a large fungus that grows on trees and can live for up to 50 years. Though it is not hallucinogenic, it is known as a "magic mushroom" because of its healing powers. Also known as reishi, the mushroom has been used in Asian cultures for thousands of years to promote good health and recuperation. Western medicine has recently woken up to its potential in stimulating the immune system. It is increasingly being used as an anti-inflammatory agent in the treatment of cancer, Alzheimer's and cardiovascular ailments, as well as for treating hypertension, arthritis, bronchitis hepatitis and chronic fatigue syndrome. Gareth Patterson, who has been tracking the elephants through the forest for the past two years, suggests they are using the fungus to counter toxins in their diet. "The forest vegetation they are eating, including ferns and fynbos, has a high tannin content. Tannin causes liver problems and I am speculating this has something to do with the elephants eating mushrooms." Patterson's research indicates that Outeniqua communities living around the forest used to drink a tea made out of elephant droppings to boost their immune systems. And a researcher at the University of Mutare in Zimbabwe working with Aids orphans has discovered communities who are using Ganoderma to boost their immune systems. "Instead of importing expensive medicines, they are drinking the mushrooms in tea form," says Patterson. He contacted elephant experts in India and East Africa, who said they were unaware of other elephant populations using Ganoderma. However, Diane Fossey recorded gorillas using the mushroom for medicinal purposes. Patterson has been sending elephant dung samples to Lori Eggert, a researcher at the Smithsonian Institution in the United States, for DNA testing. The object is to determine how many elephants there are in the Knysna forest, of what sex and whether there is any chance they will start mating. Eggert has developed a genetic censusing method using DNA extracted from dung. It was used to determine that the forest elephants of West Africa are genetically distinct from the continent's other two known elephant types, and is providing information needed for the effective management of other declining species around the world. The Knysna elephants are legendary and mysterious. The only free-ranging elephants in South Africa, their mystique has increased over the years as they seemed to disappear without a trace. Numerous books and films have documented their demise. There were an estimated 100 000 elephants roaming South Africa prior to the arrival of European settlers. By the 1920s ivory traders and hunters had ensured there were only four small pockets of elephants left -- and the Southern Cape population, numbering less than 20 elephants in the Knysna forest and what is now the Addo National Park, was the largest. During the 20th century, the number in the Knysna forest steadily declined until in 1999 an elderly elephant cow named the Matriarch was declared the last Knysna elephant. Efforts to provide her with the company of youngsters translocated from the Kruger park did not work out and they were moved to a private game reserve in the Eastern Cape. Patterson started searching the Knysna forest after reading about the lonely Matriarch. He has covered hundreds of kilometres on foot in the past two years, and has come to the conclusion that she is not alone. "I am convinced there are three or four elephants out there. The tracks indicate the youngest is about 10 years, there is a female of about 16, a young bull and an adult of possibly 30." However, he has not found any signs of the Matriarch, who would be about 54 now if she is alive. Patterson and two forestry guards who have also been tracking elephants, Karel Maswati and Wilfred Oraai, believe the Matriarch might be dead. The results of the DNA research will take a couple of months. Meanwhile, Patterson has taken a leaf out of his subjects' book and is treating his own hypertension with the "magic mushroom".Ganoderma is available in various commercial forms, including tablets, extracts, tinctures and teas. It is a multibillion-rand industry in China, where it is considered to be one of the "herbs of the gods" capable of even bringing the dead back to life. Patterson is hoping this belief will be true of the near-extinct Knysna forest elephants. 030307 MG030302