An orangutan in a protected site in the Indonesian rainforest that suffered a facial injury treated the wound himselfaccording to a study published in the journal Scientific Reports earlier this month.
THE male primate chewed the leaves of a plant known for its anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and pain-relieving properties – then applied a paste he made from the chewed leaves to his facial wound, according to the study.
The researchers – from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany and the Universitas Nasional in Indonesia – observed the orangutan, named Rakus, for several weeks during the summer of 2022.
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His wound healed within five days, he noted.
Less than a month later, he appeared completely healed with a barely visible scar, according to the published report.
An orangutan injured in the face, pictured left, nursed it back to health itself, according to a study published in the journal Scientific Reports earlier this month. In the picture on the right, his scar is barely noticeable. (Armas Fitra & Safruddin & TNGL & KLHK & MPI & UNAS & YEL)
This is the first observed case of actively treating a wound with a “known biologically active plant substance” applied by a male Sumatran orangutan. in nature.
“He began chewing the leaves without swallowing them and using his fingers to apply the plant juice from his mouth directly to his facial wound,” the researchers noted in their published study.
“This behavior was repeated several times.”
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“Rakus then coated the entire wound with the pulp of the plant until the red flesh was completely covered with green leaves. He then continued to feed on this plant,” they continued.
The orangutan was observed at the Suaq Balimbing research site in Indonesia.
This is an area of rainforest that is home to approximately 150 Sumatran orangutans, a critically endangered species, according to a press release.
“The behavior of the male Sumatran flanged orangutan reported here appears to be intentional,” the researchers wrote.
“The whole process took a long time.”
The study authors said the injury to the animal’s face likely occurred during a fight with a neighboring male.
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Isabelle Laumer, a primatologist and cognitive biologist at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany – one of the lead authors of the study – said in an email to Fox News Digital that the primate used a vine called Fibraurea tinctoria.
The plant is known for its analgesic effects and is used in traditional medicine to treat diseases such as malaria.
When asked how Rakus knew to use this herb to treat his own wound, Laumer replied: “It is possible that the treatment of wounds with Fibraurea tinctoria emerges by individual accident…
