RAW VIDEO: Orangutan found medically treating injury in scientific first | Entertainment

Credit: Safruddin/Armas/Ulil Azhari/Adami/Max Planck Institute/Cover Images An incredible study published in the journal Scientific Reports has revealed that orangutans are the first animal observed tending to their own wounds. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany and the Universitas Nasional in Indonesia reveal groundbreaking evidence of self-medicating behavior in a wild male Sumatran orangutan, shedding light on the evolutionary origins of treatment of wounds in humans. The study, led by Caroline Schuppli and Isabelle Laumer, was carried out in the protected Suaq Balimbing rainforest in Indonesia, which is home to a critically endangered population of Sumatran orangutans. During routine observations, researchers observed a male orangutan named Rakus actively tending to a facial injury. During daily orangutan observations, we noticed that a male named Rakus had suffered a facial injury, probably in a fight with a neighboring male, Laumer says. Remarkably, three days after the injury, Rakus engaged in deliberate wound treatment. He selectively plucked the leaves of a vine known as Akar Kuning (Fibraurea tinctoria), chewed them and applied the resulting juice precisely to the wound for several minutes before covering it entirely with the chewed leaves. The plant, renowned for its medicinal properties in traditional Southeast Asian medicine, contains compounds with antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects that promote wound healing. Laumer adds: This vine and related species found in the rainforests of Southeast Asia are known for their analgesic and antipyretic effects and are used in traditional medicine to treat various illnesses, such as malaria. Analyzes of plant chemical compounds show the presence of furanoditerpenoids and protoberberine alkaloids, known for their antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antioxidant, and other biological activities relevant to wound healing. Notably, observations revealed no signs of infection, and within five days the wound had healed significantly. This unprecedented behavior raises intriguing questions about its intentionality and emergence. Rakus's meticulous and repeated application of plant material suggests deliberate action rather than mere coincidence. Schuppli suggests that such behavior could come from individual innovation. She adds: It is possible that treatment of wounds with Fibraurea tinctoria by Suaq orangutans emerges through individual innovation. The orangutans present on the site rarely eat the plant. However, individuals may accidentally touch their wounds while feeding on this plant and thus unintentionally apply the plant's juice to their wounds. As Fibraurea tinctoria has powerful analgesic effects, individuals may experience an immediate release of pain, leading them to repeat the behavior several times. Importantly, this finding challenges previous assumptions about the ability of non-human animals to self-medicate. It offers a rare glimpse into the sophisticated cognitive abilities of our closest relatives and hints at the common evolutionary mechanisms underlying wound management across species. Schuppli highlights the potential implications of this finding, suggesting that understanding the origins of wound care behaviors could shed light on the broader evolutionary history of medicine. The treatment of human wounds was probably first mentioned in a medical manuscript dating from 2200 BC, which included cleaning, plastering and dressing wounds with certain healing substances, she explains. Since forms of active wound treatment are not uniquely human, but can also be found in the great apes of Africa and Asia, it is possible that there is a common underlying mechanism for recognition and the application of substances with medical or functional properties to wounds and that our last common ancestor already exhibited similar ointment behaviors. As the first documented case of active wound management with a biologically active substance in a great ape species, Rakus' remarkable behavior opens new avenues for exploring the depths of animal cognition and its implications for human health.