Ecovolunteer nature travel: help orangutans at Sumatra in Indonesia. This project, the first of it’s kind for orangutans, investigates the way that orangutans self-medicate in order to treat illness and eradicate parasites. It isn’t easy learning to be an orangutan. The rainforest is teeming with plants, insects, and many types of fruits. It takes years for a youngster to learn what is good, bad and more importantly, what to take for indigestion. We tend to think of native animals, such as orangutans, having natural immunity to diseases in their environment. This is not the case - they are just as susceptible to microbes and parasites as are humans. Unbelievably, like humans, it appears that they take medicine to treat their illnesses, in the form of medicinal plants. Apes using plants to treat a ‘dodgy gut’ is a fairly new finding, and one that is overflowing with questions about how they know which plants to select for which ailments. This is where we come in. Ivona Foitova wants to learn from the orangutans which plant treats which parasite. By doing this, it is hoped that we will be able to offer ways of dealing with new illnesses in one of our closest living relatives. orang-utans, orangutans, pongo pygmaeus, pongidae, apes, orang-utan, orangutan, ape, indonesia, sumatra, gunung leuser national park, ivona foitova, umi - saving of pongidae foundation, nature travel, ecotourism