Wounded wild orangutan seen using plant as medicine | BBC News

A Sumatran orangutan in Indonesia has self-medicated using a paste made from plants to heal a large wound on his cheek, said scientists.

It is the first time a creature in the wild has been recorded treating an injury with a medicinal plant.

After researchers saw Rakus applying the plant poultice to his face, the wound closed up and healed in a month.

The behaviour could come from a common ancestor shared by humans and great apes, scientists have said.

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