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Orangutan seen using medicinal plants to heal a wound for first time ever

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The observation provides a window into how our own ancestors may have developed their natural medicines. Deep within an Indonesian rainforest, a team of research scientists recorded something that had never been captured before: a Sumatran orangutan they’d affectionately named Rakus carefully treating a nasty gash on his cheek with a plant proven to have antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, and antioxidant properties. "Only a few days following this treatment, the terrible wound began healing and within a couple of days, it had closed completely," says Isabelle Laumer, a cognitive biologist and primatologist at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany and the lead author of a newly published study describing the event. "[This] is the first observation of a wild animal actually treating his wound precisely with a medical plant." The observation offers a new perspective on natural healing methods and behaviors and where these inclinations may have originated. “We

Orangutan seen using medicinal plants to heal a wound for first time ever | National Geographic Premium ANIMALS Orangutan seen using medicinal plants to heal a wound for first time ever The observation provides a window into how our own ancestors may have developed their natural medicines. By August 25, 2002, two months after Rakus' medicinal leaf treatment, the wound was barely visible. Photograph by Safruddin By Daryl Austin Published May 2, 2024 Deep within an Indonesian rainforest, a team of research scientists recorded something that had never been captured before: a Sumatran orangutan th

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