When you get a cut, you might clean it and apply an antibiotic cream to help it heal. Orangutans might do something similar!
In 2022, scientists spotted an orangutan named Rakus rubbing a medicinal plant on his face. He had a wound, likely from fighting. The orangutan chewed up the plant’s leaves and spread their juice on his injury. Then he put the leaf mash on top like a Band-Aid. Humans know the plant—Fibraurea tinctoria—is a pain reliever and fever reducer. This is the first time scientists have seen a wild animal using plants to treat a wound like humans do!
“Most likely Rakus had felt an immediate pain release by applying the plant,” says Isabelle Laumer, who studies Rakus and other primates.