Caroline Ingraham is the founder of Applied Zoopharmacognosy and the Ingraham Method of Innate Medication (IMIM), and has over four decades of experience working with animals across domestic, sanctuary, and zoological environments. Her work centres on how animals interact with plant extracts and naturally occurring substances, using behavioural observation to interpret their responses and support their wellbeing.

Over the course of her career, Caroline has documented cross-species patterns in self-medicative behaviour, contributing to a growing body of understanding that bridges observational practice and scientific inquiry. Her approach places emphasis on animal agency, allowing the individual animal’s behaviour to guide the process rather than applying predetermined or diagnostic models.

Her work sits within a wider tradition of observation-led research that has expanded our understanding of animals through sustained, attentive study. This approach, reflected in the work of Jane Goodall, has helped to challenge conventional assumptions by bringing focus back to the animal’s own behaviour and experience.

Her work has featured in many journals and magazines and Caroline has written numerous books on animal self-medication. She has appeared on the BBC, ITV, BBC Radio 4, National Geographic TV and at the Hay Festival of Literature and Arts.

Caroline is in demand globally as a consultant and teacher, speaking regularly at international symposiums. She lectures to vets, vet nurses, animal professionals, university students all over the world, as well as empowering those with companion animals to form new lines of communication using self-medicative techniques, to help animals in their care