In a first, orangutan seen applying medicinal herbs to face wound. What could it mean?

An orangutan named Rakus knows self-medication as scientists have observed him applying medicinal herbs to a face wound. The observation was apparently a successful attempt to heal an injury. This happened after the researchers heard a fight between male orangutans in the treetops of a rainforest in Sumatra, Indonesia. 

Rakus was tracked by the scientists at the Gunung Leuser National Park in Indonesia's Aceh province. When they checked the region, they found him three days later and noticed an open wound on his face. 

In a surprising moment, they spotted Rakus showing high intelligence levels as he was trying to heal a pink wound below his right eyelid. 

He was spotted chewing the leaves of a vine called Fibraurea tinctoria, which is known for its medicinal properties. It has long been used in local traditional medicine. 

The findings were published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports on Thursday (May 2). It mentioned that the apparent treatment, which was seen by researchers in Indonesia in 2022, is the first time a wild animal has been seen applying medicinal plants to a wound. 

The study by Indonesian and German scientists noted that the orangutan "began chewing the leaves without swallowing them and using his fingers to apply the plant juice from his mouth directly onto his facial wound". 

Not just that, Rakus "smeared the entire wound with the plant pulp until the red flesh was fully covered with the green leaf material" when flies started to land on it. 

The researcher observed Rakus the next day as he was seen eating the vine's leaves again. The study mentioned that his wound had closed up around a week later and healed without any sign of infection. 

"This study is the first systematic documentation of the putative active wound treatment with a biologically active plant substance in great apes and other non-human species," a discussion of the story mentioned. 

"The flanged male orangutan Rakus was observed to selectively detach, chew, and repeatedly apply the chewed leave juice directly on his three-day-old facial wound for several minutes and covered the entire wound with a chewed-up leaf mash," the study added. 

The finding is an addition to a growing body of information concerning how monkeys use plants to stay healthy.