Biologists just observed a wild male Sumatran orangutan treating an active wound on his face at a Suaq Balimbing research site in Indonesia.
A wild male Sumatran orangutan treated his wound with a medicinal plant, the first time such behavior had ever been observed in a close relative of ours.
Thus far, researchers have witnessed animals ingesting plants to self-medicate but infrequently. The great apes, our closest evolutionary tie, do utilize plants to treat parasite infection and sore muscles. Recently, chimpanzees even rubbed insects into their wounds. However, wound treatment with a biologically active substance has remained to be seen until now.
After chewing the plant, Rakus applied the liquid to the wound in his cheek for about seven minutes. He then dressed it with the leaves and continued to ingest the plant. The wound began to close in five days and fully healed in a month. “Interestingly, Rakus also rested more than usual when being wounded. Sleep positively affects wound healing as growth hormone release, protein synthesis and cell division are increased during sleep,” she explains. to treat himself and that his method worked. Signs of wound treatment in other animals have not been confirmed as having a real effect until now.
They don’t know whether Rakus has ever performed the same action before. They also cannot confirm if he learned it from other orangutans from his birthplace. His place of origin is unknown. After Orangutan males reach adulthood, they travel long distances to establish a new home or to move between homes. Perhaps, Schuppli postulated, other orangutans exhibit similar behavior.The first documented evidence of humans treating wounds appeared in a medical manuscript from 2200 BCE.
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