Scientists Realize Animals Aren't As Dumb As Stupid Humans Think They Are

CNN - Scientists working in Indonesia have observed an orangutan intentionally treating a wound on their face with a medicinal plant, the first time this behavior has been documented.

Rakus, a male Sumatran orangutan, treated a wound on his face by chewing leaves from a climbing plant named Akar Kuning and repeatedly applying the juice to it, according to a paper published in the journal Scientific Reports on Thursday.

Rakus then covered the wound with the chewed up leaves, which are used in traditional medicine to treat illnesses like dysentery, diabetes and malaria, said scientists.

Study lead author Isabelle Laumer, a post-doctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, told CNN that the team were “very excited” by their observations, which took place in June 2022 in the Suaq Balimbing research area in Gunung Leuser National Park, Indonesia.

Sometimes I really wonder about "scientists". 

I feel like we grow up and are taught to believe that if somebody is called a scientist that automatically makes them intelligent. 

But the older you get, the more people you meet, and the more you read, the more you start to realize it's just like anything else in life. It all depends. There are some really good ones, and some really bad ones. Just like doctors. 

So I'm not necessarily calling Isabelle Laumer an idiot here, but scientists in general. No offense. 

It seems like once a month we get some "study" that shows animals communicate in ways we had no idea about. Or animals are more aware and cognizant than humans originally thought. Or that certain species of animals are sentient benings. 

For fucks sake, just last month a big bucks funded scientific "study" found that dogs can understand human language and certain words just like babies. 

Yah no shit.

You could have saved a lot of money and time by asking dog owners that question. I met a girl recently who has a little Shih Tzu. That dog is smart as fuck. Smarter than some people I know. No joke. 

But I'm rambling now, back to the orangutans. And our guy Rakus. 

Why are we so surprised that animals know how to not just take care of themselves, but heal themseleves?

They've been around a hell of a lot longer than humans have. And despite our best efforts to destroy them, and everything else on this planet, they continue to stick around. Hell, they'll probably be around long after we manage to wipe ourselves off the planet. They survive through the harshest elements, have zero of our modern amenities, and don't even enjoy the luxury of wiping their ass with Dude Wipes (see that plug?) after they take a dump. 

Just because Big Pharma hasn't infilitrated the congo yet, and Rakus and his band don't have "Western medicine" at their disposal, we're supposed to be impressed they know how to dress a wound? (Fun fact - a group of orangatans is called a band or a troop)

Personally, I think scientists should start studying animals not just to learn about their behavior, but to take notes and pass on information to us humans because we've become really fucking stupid and need all the help we can get.