Scientists have documented a male orangutan named Rakus using a plant with known medicinal properties to help heal his facial wound.
Humans aren’t the only primates with a medicine cabinet, it seems. In a new paper published today, scientists document a male orangutan named Rakus using a plant with known medicinal properties to help heal his facial wound. While there have been other recent accounts of animals using medicine in the wild, this appears to be the first report of an animal applying plants to their wounds as a sort of topical salve, the authors say.
Within five days, his wound had closed up, and by late August, it was barely noticeable. There have been other reports of self-medicating being performed by animals in the wild, including other primates. In a 2022 study, for example, scientists documented chimpanzees grabbing flying insects from the air, chewing them up, and then applying the mix to their wounds or the wounds of other chimps in the group.
Primatology Environment Hominidae Primate Sumatran Orangutan Rakus Isabelle Laumer Fauna Of Southeast Asia Akar Kuning Gizmodo
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Orangutan observed using a plant to treat an open woundAndrew Paul is Popular Science‘s staff writer covering tech news. Previously, he was a regular contributor to The A.V. Club and Input, and has had recent work featured by Rolling Stone, Fangoria, GQ, Slate, NBC, as well as McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. He lives outside Indianapolis.
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