Scientists amazed as Orangutan uses medicinal plant to treat wound, ‘like administered by doctors’

An orangutan appeared to treat a wound with a medicine plant, making him the first documented case, scientists have said. In June 2022, Rakus, a male Sumatran orangutan, suffered a facial wound below his right eye, believed to have occurred during a fight with another Orangutan at the Suaq Balimbing research site, a protected rainforest area in Indonesia.

According to a new study in Scientific Reports published on Thursday, it was revealed that Rakus treated the wound with a plant renowned for its pain-relieving properties and its ability to support wound healing.

Also Read: Man kills, eats own pet dog after it bit his 7-year-old nephew; CCTV footage sparks row

Speaking on this, Primatologist and Cognitive biologist Isabelle Laumer of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany said that the orangutan chewed the plant's leaves to produce a liquid and then applied the chewed-up plant material directly to the injury, much like a wound plaster administered by doctors.

Laumer who is the lead author of the study published in the journal Scientific Reports added that Rakus consumed the plant, an evergreen vine commonly known as Akar Kuning (scientific name: Fibraurea tinctoria). As per the study, this plant is seldom eaten by orangutans in the peat swamp forest area and is found across a wide distribution area, including China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and other parts of Southeast Asia. It is commonly used in traditional medicine to treat various conditions, including malaria.

"To our knowledge, this is the first documented case of active wound treatment with a plant species with medical properties by a wild animal," senior author Caroline Schuppli, an evolutionary biologist at the institute said.

Also Read: China launches Chang'e-6 probe with Pakistan's first satellite Moon mission on board: WATCH

Ulil Azhari, a co-author and field researcher at the Suaq Project in Medan, Indonesia, documented this intriguing behaviour by the Orangutan in 2022. It was also noted that the animal's wounds healed completely within a month without any complications.

Reports added that researchers have been studying Orangutans in Indonesia's Gunung Leuser National Park since 1994; however, this behaviour was not seen before. It is also reported that Orangutans are known to learn skills from each other through observation.

Emory University biologist Jacobus de Roode, who was not involved in the study said, "It’s a single observation. But often we learn about new behaviours by starting with a single observation."

Also Read: 'Switching jobs only way….': Engineer shares 'hard truths' about Indian companies; calls appraisals ‘a joke’

Another co-author Caroline Schuppli at Max Planck has also said that Rakus could have learned the technique from other Orangutans living outside the park, away from the daily scrutiny of scientists.

All you need to know about Orangutans

Orangutans, along with chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas, are one of the world's great apes and the closest living relatives of humans, Reuters has reported. It added that although they are the least closely related to humans among these primates, they still share approximately 97 per cent of our DNA.

Also Read: Heatwave: 'Delhi to aao ek baar', netizens respond to Bengaluru resident claiming city can no longer play ‘weather card'

Moreover, senior author Caroline Schuppli has described Orangutans “to have high cognitive abilities, in particular in the area of physical cognition. They are known to be excellent problem-solvers. Wild orangutans acquire their skill sets via observational social learning, and skills get passed on from generation to generation. The population where this observation was made is known for its rich cultural repertoire, including tool use in different contexts," Schuppli added.

(With all inputs from Reuters, AFP, AP)