great ape

Measuring the heart rate of great apes in captivity is essential for both health management and animal studies.

The closest relatives to humans, the great apes, are known to ingest specific plants to treat parasite infection and to rub plant material on their skin to treat sore muscles.

Like other great apes, orangutans have many humanlike habits: They use tools, put roofs over their nests, and even build umbrellas.

Previous research has documented several species of great apes foraging for medicines in forests to heal themselves, but scientists hadn’t yet seen an animal treat itself in this way.

Scientists say the behaviour could come from a common ancestor shared by humans and great apes.