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An orangutan has been seen treating a wound using a plant with known pain-relieving properties, marking the first known instance of a wild animal deliberately tending to its injuries with medicine. Researchers in Indonesia documented a male Sumatran orangutan with a facial wound repeatedly applying sap from a plant with anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties that’s long been used in traditional medicine. The ape also covered its wound with a mesh made from the plant’s leaves, suggesting that treatment of wounds with medicine may have arisen in a common ancestor shared by humans and apes. Self-medication by ingesting plant parts is widely seen across animal species, but treatment of wounds with a specific biologically active substance has not been documented previously. Watch more on Independent TV: Click here to subscribe to The Independent: About The Independent: Making
