An orangutan in Indonesia was caught using a plant to treat a wound: “After a month it was completely healed”

A Sumatran orangutan in Indonesia self-medicated using a paste made from plants to heal a large wound on his cheek, scientists say, BBC writes.

It is the first time that a creature in the wild has been caught treating a wound with the help of a medicinal plant.

After the researchers saw Rakus apply the herbal poultice to his face, the wound closed and healed within a month.

Scientists say this behavior could come from a common ancestor of humans and great apes.

“They are our closest relatives and this again points to the similarities we have with them. We are more similar than different,” said biologist Dr. Isabella Laumer, a biologist at the Max Planck Institute in Germany and the lead author of the research.

A team of researchers in Gunung Leuser National Park, Indonesia, spotted Rakus with a large gash on his cheek in June 2022.

They believe he was injured in a fight with rival male orangutans because he let out loud cries called “long cries” in the days before seeing the wound.

The team then saw Rakus chewing the stem and leaves of a plant called Akar Kuning – an anti-inflammatory and antibacterial herb that is also used locally to treat malaria and diabetes.

He repeatedly applied the liquid to his cheek for seven minutes. Rakus then placed the chewed leaves on the wound until it was completely covered. It continued to feed on the plant for over 30 minutes.

The paste and leaves then seem to have worked their magic—the researchers saw no sign of infection, and the wound closed within five days.

After a month, the orangutan was completely cured

After a month, Rakus was completely healed.

The scientists concluded that Rakus knew he was applying a medicine because orangutans rarely eat this particular plant.

“He repeatedly applied the paste and later applied more solid plant matter. The whole process really took a considerable amount of time – that’s why we think he applied it on purpose,” Dr. Laumer explains.

The researchers also saw Rakus resting much more than usual – more than half the day – suggesting he was trying to recover from the injury.

Scientists were already aware that great apes used medicine to try to heal themselves.

In the 1960s, biologist Jane Goodall saw whole leaves in chimpanzee feces. Also, other experts say they have seen great apes swallowing leaves with medicinal properties.

But they have never seen a wild animal apply a plant to a wound.

Dr. Laumer says it may have been the first time Rakus had done this type of treatment.

“He might have accidentally touched his wound with the finger that had the plant on it. And then, because the plant has quite strong analgesic substances, he might have felt immediate pain relief, which made him apply it again and again,” she says. Or he could have learned the method by watching other orangutans in his group.

The researchers will now keep a close eye on other orangutans to see if they can detect the same medical abilities that Rakus has demonstrated.

“I think in the coming years we will discover even more behaviors and abilities that are very similar to human ones,” she suggests.

The research was published in the scientific journal Scientific Reports.

Publisher: BC

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