May 3, 2024 – 1:07 pm
For the first time in the world, a Sumatran orangutan in Indonesia treated a wound on its jaw with a pain-killing plant, biologists from the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior in Germany and the Indonesian National University announced, according to MTI News.
While observing an orangutan named Rakos, biologists noticed that he was consuming the sap of a creeper plant commonly used in traditional medicine, which has anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving effects, and then repeatedly applied it to his open wound. According to Isabel Lohmer of the German Institute of Ethology, Rakos may have been injured during a fight with a nearby man.
“It appears that Rakos' behavior was intentional because he selectively treated the wound on the right side of his face with plant sap and not any other part of his body,” Loomer said.
According to scientists, the animal's wound did not become infected later. According to the researchers, this observation may provide insight into the evolutionary origins of wound healing. The plant is known as acar kuning, and Indonesians use it as medicine. It has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antioxidant and other healing properties.
