Wild animals don’t have store-bought ointments, boxes of bandages, or infection-fighting pills to treat their wounds. So what do they do when they get a serious scrape or a broken leg?
“For a long time, people thought that self-medicating—or treating yourself to prevent or reduce illness—was something only humans did,” evolutionary biologist Louise Peckre says. “But it turns out animals do it, too.” Read on to discover five extraordinary examples of animals healing themselves.
THE PATIENT: Sumatran orangutan
THE CONDITION: Open wound
THE TREATMENT: Plant paste
Rakus the orangutan had probably been tussling with another male over territory when he got a large gash on his cheek. Afterward, researchers watched Rakus eat leaves from a vine that orangutans rarely dine on. He chewed the leaves, then applied the mash to…
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National Geographic Kids (Digital) - 1 Issue, April 2025