It is known to be the first time that an animal has been seen to be demonstrably able to heal its own wounds with a medicinal plant.
An orangutan living in Indonesia’s Gunung Leuser National Park Rakus has done an amazing thing: it healed its awkward-looking wound on the cheekbone under the eye itself.
For example, the British Broadcasting Corporation The BBC reports of the case, which is believed to be the first time an animal has been recorded treating injuries with medicinal plants.
The researchers saw Rakus gather the leaves of a certain plant, mumble them, and then apply the resulting herbal bath to his face. The wound closed and healed within a month.
According to researchers, the behavior may be due to the common ancestor of humans and monkeys.
– They are our closest relatives, and this again points to the similarities we share with them. We are more similar than different, says the biologist of the German Max Planck Institute and the leader of the national park’s research team Isabella Laumer.
In June 2022, a research team in Gunung Leuser National Park in Indonesia noticed a large wound on Rakus’ cheek.
They believe that an orangutan named Rakus was injured while fighting with rival male orangutans. That’s what they concluded because Rakus was making long, loud cries-like noises for a few days before the researchers were able to see the wound.
The researchers then saw Rakus chewing the stem and leaves of a plant called Akar Kuning. Rakus spread the chewed vegetable mass on his wound.
Akar Kuning is an anti-inflammatory and antibacterial plant that is also used topically to treat malaria and diabetes.