Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Wounded orangutan seen using plant as medicine
Orangutans are great apes that live in parts of the rainforests of Borneo
and Sumatra. They are among the most intelligent primates, but their
populations have declined to a critically endangered level due to poaching, habitat
destruction, and deforestation. They are known for their ability to create and
use tools like sticks for insect extraction and leaves for makeshift umbrellas.
Recently, scientists observed a male orangutan in the wild treat a deep wound
on his face by chewing leaves of a certain plant and applying the paste to the
wound to heal it. The leaves the orangutan used are the ones used by humans
traditionally to treat diabetes and malaria. Although other wild primate
species are known to swallow, chew, or rub themselves with plants that have
medicinal properties, scientists have never seen them use plants to treat
recent wounds. The scientists believe that the orangutan intentionally used that
particular plant to treat his wound because he applied it repeatedly until it
healed.
Are we more similar to great apes than we are different from them?
Read the article and see the photos to learn about how an orangutan used
the traditional treatment for a deep facial wound.
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