A wild orangutan treated his own wound with a medicinal plant

In 2022, researchers watched a Sumatran orangutan named Rakus chew leaves of a pain-relieving, antibacterial vine and press the paste onto a fresh wound on his face. He kept reapplying it over several days, and the wound closed within a week with no infection. It's the first documented case of a wild animal treating an injury with a plant known to have medicinal properties.

— Isabelle B. Laumer et al., Active Self-Treatment of a Facial Wound with a Biologically Active Plant by a Male Sumatran Orangutan — Scientific Reports, 2024