The animal suffered from a nasty facial injury. He took care of himself by making a bandage from liana leaves.
On his face, his flesh was exposed to the air, under the right eye and along the nostrils, reports France info in particular. This Sumatran orangutan didn’t give up. The great ape took care of himself with a bandage made from a vine.
First documented case
This is the first “documented case of treatment of a wound with a plant species containing biologically active substances by a wild animal”underline the authors of an article published in the journal Scientific Reportsthis Thursday, May 2, 2024.
In Indonesia
Rakus, this is the primate’s first name, is followed with nearly 130 congeners, all in the wild, in an area of the Indonesian Gunung Leuser National Park. He was probably injured during a fight with a nearby male, according to the main author of the study, primatologist Isabelle Laumer.
He covers his wound with liana pulp
Three days after his injury, the orangutan began to chew the leaves of a vine, locally called Akar Kuning (Scientific name Fibraurea tinctoria). He then brought his fingers coated with the juice to his wound, before covering it entirely with vine pulp.
Five days later, Rakus’ wound had closed. Two weeks later, the scar was barely visible.
Intentional
This vine and others similar “are used as traditional remedies for different ailments” according to the biologist. The study believes that Rakus’ behavior was well intentioned.
Self-medication behaviors have already been observed in animals, particularly primates. In the 1960s, the famous primatologist Jane Goodall first observed that chimpanzees were ingesting leaves that were later revealed to have an antiparasitic role.
