Wild orangutan actively treats wound with a healing plant

We observed a wild male Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) applying chewed leaves from Akar Kuning (Fibraurea tinctoria) — a climbing plant used in traditional medicine to treat conditions such as malaria and has known antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving biological activities of relevance to wound healing — to a wound on his cheek. The findings, which are published in Scientific Reports, represent the first report of wound treatment by a wild animal using a plant with known medicinal properties. Videos show male orangutan Rakus on the day as the wound was first observed, on the day he treated his wound with Fibraurea tinctoria, on the day after as he was feeding on Fibraurea tinctoria, and four and five days after wound treatment. Paper published in Scientific Reports 2024 Title of publication: Active self-treatment of a facial wound with a biologically active plant by a male Sumatran orangutan Authors: Isabelle B. Laumer, Arif Rahman, Tri Rahmaeti, Ulil Azhari, Hermansyah,