BANGKOK: Scientists have observed an orangutan applying medicinal herbs to a face wound in an apparently successful attempt to heal an injury, the first time such behaviour has been recorded.

Primates have previously been seen eating plants or rubbing them on themselves in behaviour scientists theorised was intended to ward off disease or discomfort. But the apparent treatment seen by researchers in Indonesia in 2022, and reported in the journal Nature Scientific Reports on Thursday, is the first time a wild animal has been seen applying medicinal plants to a wound.

Scientists were tracking a male orangutan nicknamed Rakus at the Gunung Leuser National Park in Indonesia’s Aceh province when they noticed an open wound on his face.

Three days later, they spotted him chewing the leaves of a vine called Fibraurea tinctoria, which is known for its medicinal properties and has long been used in local traditional medicine.

The orangutan “began chewing the leaves without swallowing them and using his fingers to apply the plant juice from his mouth directly onto his facial wound,” said the study by Indonesian and German scientists.

When flies began to land on the site, Rakus “smeared the entire wound with the plant pulp until the red flesh was fully covered with the green leaf material.” The next day, Rakus was seen eating the vine’s leaves again, and a week later his wound had closed up, subsequently healing without any sign of infection.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2024