Orangutan Treats Wound With Medicinal Plant In First Recorded Case

Researchers observed a Sumatran orangutan named Rakus treating a facial wound with a plant with known medicinal properties for the first time. Rakus selectively tore leaves off a liana climbing vine, chewed them to produce juice, applied the juice to his wound, and then covered the wound with the chewed leaves. The wound closed up within five days and healed completely within a few weeks.

While it is not the first recorded instance of apes self-medicating, it is the first time an ape has been seen using a plant with known healing properties. The systematic way in which Rakus applied the plant juice and chewed leaves indicated intentional behavior, leaving researchers unsure if he came up with the method on his own or learned it from observing other orangutans. Self-medicating behavior in great apes, such as ingesting plants for medicinal purposes, has been documented in other species like chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and white-handed gibbons.