DOCTOR ORANGUTAN: FIRST WILD ANIMAL SEEN USING MEDICINAL PLANT

Since they live in the same habitat, I would say that's quite obvious, but still intriguing to realize," says Caroline Schuppli, a primatologist at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Konstanz, Germany, and a co-author of the study. The researchers observed Rakus fighting with o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 2024-05, Vol.629 (8013), p.737-737
Main Author: Vaidyanathan, Gayathri
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal behavior
Animals
Chimpanzees
Drug self-administration
Herbal medicine
Insects
Medicinal plants
Monkeys & apes
National parks
Orangutans
Pan troglodytes
Rubbing
Self-medication
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Summary:Since they live in the same habitat, I would say that's quite obvious, but still intriguing to realize," says Caroline Schuppli, a primatologist at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Konstanz, Germany, and a co-author of the study. The researchers observed Rakus fighting with other flanged males to establish dominance and, in June 2022, a field assistant noted an open wound on his face, possibly made by the canines of another male, Schuppli says. The research group has seen no other orangutans in the national park self-medicate using akar kuning in 21 years of observation. [...]chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in Gabon have been observed rubbing insects near their wounds4, potentially as treatment.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/d41586-024-01289-w