Orangutan stuns scientists with first-ever wild animal behavior

Primate researcher Isabelle Laumer and her team made this remarkable observation during their extensive research on wild Sumatran orangutans at the Suaq Balimbing research site in Indonesia. Rakus, a prominent member of the region’s orangutan community, was spotted with a significant wound on the right side of his flank, likely suffered during a recent altercation with another man.

What followed amazed orangutan researchers. Three days after sustaining the injury, Rakus was observed exhibiting unprecedented behavior. He swallowed, chewed deliberately, and then applied pieces of a nearby plant to his wound, demonstrating a meticulous and purposeful approach to self-medication.