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Wild orangutan uses a plant to treat a wound under his right eye, scientists say

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. Rakus, a wild orangutan in Indonesia, suffered a nasty wound under his eye, so he did something scientists have never seen a wild animal do before. He chewed medicinal leaves and applied them to the wound several times. The wound healed. Where did he learn to do that? Researchers don't know. They've studied orangutans in Indonesia since 1994, and all these years later, they're still learning more about them.

It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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