✦ New research Scientific Reports · May 2024

Quick & curious · Nature

An orangutan treats his wound.

A male Sumatran orangutan with broad cheek pads sitting in the rainforest
Photo: Dennis Keller · CC BY 2.0 · Original

5dayslater, the wound had closed

The story behind it

Documented for the first time: a wild orangutan treating his wound with a medicinal plant.

A German-Indonesian team led by the Max Planck Institute watched Rakus, a male orangutan, chew the leaves of a vine, dab the juice onto a facial wound and cover it with the pulp. The plant contains anti-inflammatory compounds.