Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Wild orangutan seen using medicinal plant to treat wound, scientists say
South China Morning Post ^ | May 2, 2024 | Staff

Posted on 05/02/2024 1:00:31 PM PDT by Red Badger

* An adult male named Rakus chewed a plant used by people in Southeast Asia to treat pain and inflammation, then applied it to an injury on his right cheek

* Photographs show the animal’s wound closed within a month without any problems

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rakus, a Sumatran orangutan, is seen two months after he started treating himself with a medicinal plant at a protected rainforest area in Indonesia. Photo:Safruddin/Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour via Reuters AsiaSoutheast Asia Wild orangutan seen using medicinal plant to treat wound, scientists say An adult male named Rakus chewed a plant used by people in Southeast Asia to treat pain and inflammation, then applied it to an injury on his right cheek Photographs show the animal’s wound closed within a month without any problems Associated Press Associated Press + FOLLOW Published: 2:28am, 3 May 2024 Why you can trust SCMP Listen to this article An orangutan has apparently learned to treat wounds with medicine from a tropical plant – the latest example of how some animals attempt to soothe their own ills with remedies found in the wild, scientists reported on Thursday.

Scientists observed Rakus pluck and chew up leaves of a medicinal plant used by people throughout Southeast Asia to treat pain and inflammation. The adult male orangutan then used his fingers to apply the plant juices to an injury on the right cheek.

Afterward, he pressed the chewed plant to cover the open wound like a makeshift bandage, according to a new study in Scientific Reports.

Previous research has documented several species of great apes foraging for medicines in forests to heal themselves, but scientists hadn’t yet seen an animal treat itself in this way.

(Excerpt) Read more at scmp.com ...


TOPICS: Health/Medicine; Outdoors; Pets/Animals; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: 24chromosomepairs; anthropology; baboonmarker; donatefreerepublic; elainemorgan; godsgravesglyphs; helixmakemineadouble; orangutan; sumatra
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041 next last
He's more of a 'DOCTOR' than 'Dr.'Jill is.................
1 posted on 05/02/2024 1:00:31 PM PDT by Red Badger
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Red Badger
"He's more of a 'DOCTOR' than 'Dr.'Fauci is......"

Fixed it.

2 posted on 05/02/2024 1:02:34 PM PDT by Tench_Coxe (The woke were surprised by the reaction to the Bud Light fiasco. May there be many more surprises)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Tench_Coxe

Him too!.................


3 posted on 05/02/2024 1:03:17 PM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Far more!


4 posted on 05/02/2024 1:05:36 PM PDT by No name given (Anonymous is who you’ll know me as)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Tench_Coxe

He’s more of a doctor than Fraudchi will ever be.


5 posted on 05/02/2024 1:05:56 PM PDT by No name given (Anonymous is who you’ll know me as)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Tench_Coxe; Red Badger

You’re both right!


6 posted on 05/02/2024 1:06:52 PM PDT by Vesuvian
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

The orangutan is smarter than most liberals.


7 posted on 05/02/2024 1:07:03 PM PDT by 1Old Pro
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

The article doesn’t name the plant used


8 posted on 05/02/2024 1:10:00 PM PDT by LilFarmer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

I’m taking orangutan off the menu right now.


9 posted on 05/02/2024 1:12:15 PM PDT by ansel12 ((NATO warrior under Reagan, and RA under Nixon, bemoaning the pro-Russians from Vietnam to Ukraine.))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ansel12

Scrap the Caddy, Clyde................


10 posted on 05/02/2024 1:13:30 PM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Dresses better too.


11 posted on 05/02/2024 1:20:41 PM PDT by HYPOCRACY (Brandon's pronouns: Xi/Hur)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: HYPOCRACY

Probably smells better...................


12 posted on 05/02/2024 1:22:07 PM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

That's a nasty wound. Probably got into a fight with another male over a female.

13 posted on 05/02/2024 1:30:23 PM PDT by Robert DeLong
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Big pharma needs to crack down on this immediately.


14 posted on 05/02/2024 1:37:06 PM PDT by nickcarraway
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Robert DeLong

I think the fight was over Trump versus Biden.


15 posted on 05/02/2024 1:38:49 PM PDT by nickcarraway
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

It’s obvious that, humans learned to treat themselves and those around them, by observing what apes and monkeys and other animals did.

The planet of the apes movies should enlighten us all. ;)


16 posted on 05/02/2024 1:39:55 PM PDT by adorno (CCH)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

That aint an Orangutan, that is Rachel Levine’s mother, Hootie Levine, from Massachusetts.


17 posted on 05/02/2024 1:42:52 PM PDT by BatGuano (Dem's guilty of Election Fraud in 2020, stand by for 2024.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

In other news, this orangutan(Rakus) was noted as having a higher intellect than Kamala Harris.

Trump is considering making Rakus his VP, to embarrass the democrats and Harris in the VP debate.


18 posted on 05/02/2024 2:27:55 PM PDT by unclebankster (Globalism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Ugh, oh, it begins.


19 posted on 05/02/2024 2:37:21 PM PDT by cowboyusa (YESHUA IS KING OF AMERICA, AND HE WILL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE HIM!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Tench_Coxe

Dr. Zeaus?


20 posted on 05/02/2024 2:38:06 PM PDT by cowboyusa (YESHUA IS KING OF AMERICA, AND HE WILL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE HIM!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson