Sumatran orangutan: scientists record one healing a wound with a plant for the first time

“We are more alike than we are different,” says biologist Isabella Laumer, after the discovery that occurred in a natural park in Indonesia.

there lives Rakusa Sumatran orangutan who applied a plant paste to heal himself a big wound that he had on his cheek.

According to scientists, it is the first time that there is evidence that a wild animal a wound will be healed with a medicinal plant.

Thanks to the application, they say, the wound closed and healed in a month.

They claim that this behavior could come from a common ancestor of humans and great apes.

“They are our closest relatives and this points again to the similarities we share with them,” says Laumer, of the Max Planck Institute in Germany and lead author of the research.

A team of researchers from Gunung Leuser National Park in Indonesia saw Rakus with a large wound on his cheek in June 2022.

They believe the injury occurred while fighting rival male orangutans because it made loud cries known as “long calls” in the days before they saw the injury.

The team then saw Rakus chewing the stem and leaves of a plant called Akar Kuningwhich is known to be anti-inflammatory and antibacterial, and is often used to treat malaria and diabetes in Indonesia.

The orangutan then repeatedly applied the liquid to its cheek for about seven minutes. Next, the wound was smeared with the chewed leaves until it was completely covered. He continued anointing his sole for 30 more minutes.

The paste and leaves seem to have had an effect: the researchers saw no signs of infection and the wound closed within five days.

Within a month, Rakus was completely cured.

The scientists concluded that Rakus knew he was taking medicine because orangutans rarely eat this particular plant, and because of the time he was using it.

“He repeatedly applied the paste, and later also applied more solid plant matter. The whole process it lasted really a long timethat’s why we believe he applied it intentionally,” explains Laumer.

Investigators also noted that Rakus took a much longer break than usual, more than half a day, suggesting he was trying to recover from the injury.

Scientists already knew that The great apes used medicine to try to cure themselves.

In the 1960s, biologist Jane Goodall saw whole leaves in chimpanzee feces, and other experts documented seeing great apes swallow leaves with medicinal properties.

But They had never seen a wild animal applying a plant about a wound.

Laumer says it may have been the first time this orangutan had undergone this type of treatment.

“It could be that he accidentally touched the wound with the finger that had the plant on it. And since the plant has very powerful analgesic substances, it is possible that he felt immediate relief, which made him apply it again and again,” he explains.

“Or he could have learned the technique by watching other orangutans in his group.”

Researchers will now look closely at other members of the species to see if they can detect the same healing abilities which Rakus showed.

“I think in the coming years we will discover even more behaviors and more very human-like abilities,” he suggests.

The research was published in the scientific journal Scientific Reports.

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