Active Wound Treatment in an Orangutan

Process of wound healing. Picture credits: Safruddin, Armas, Ulil Azhari, Adami.

Researchers observed a wild Sumatran orangutan applying the chewed-up leaves of a medicinal plant to a facial wound. It’s the first report of wound treatment with a biologically active plant in the wild. The behavior, which may have reduced pain and inflammation and supported wound healing, may have evolved in a common ancestor shared by humans and great apes.

Read more at my Animal Minds blog: Orangutan Treats His Wound with a Medicinal Plant.