An orangutan that researchers call Rakus was observed using a medicinal plant to treat a facial wound. Safruddin/ Springer Nature
For the first time, researchers have seen a wild animal treat an open wound with a medicinal plant.
After getting injured—probably in a brawl with another male—a wild Sumatran orangutan chewed the stems and leaves of a vine humans use to treat wounds and ailments such as dysentery, diabetes and malaria.
The orangutan then repeatedly smeared the makeshift salve on an open gash on its cheek until it was fully covered. After the treatment, scientists saw no signs of infection. The wound closed within five days. And it healed within a month.
Primates have been known to swallow or chew plants with medicinal properties, but researchers have never seen one prepare and apply medicine in this way.
The open wound two days before it was treated. Photo: Armas/Springer Nature
Previous studies have shown that the plant, called Akar Kuning (Fibraurea tinctoria), possesses antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antifungal properties that help it heal wounds.
The discovery was made in Indonesia’s Gunung Leuser National Park. Isabelle Laumer, a postdoctoral researcher at Germany’s Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, said it wasn’t clear whether the orangutan learned the treatment from his mother, watched other orangutans or figured it out by himself.
“It could be that he accidentally touched his wound while feeding on the plant,” Laumer said. “The plant has very potent pain-relieving effects. It could be that he felt an immediate pain release and then this caused them to repeat the behavior a couple of times.”
The study was published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports.
