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An orangutan appeared to treat a wound with medicine from a tropical plant— the latest example of how some animals attempt to soothe their own ills with remedies found in the wild, scientists have reported.

Scientists observed Rakus pluck and chew up leaves of a medicinal plant used by people throughout Southeast Asia to treat pain and inflammation.

The adult male orangutan then used his fingers to apply the plant juices to an injury on the right cheek. Afterward, he pressed the chewed plant to cover the open wound like a makeshift bandage, according to a new study in Scientific Reports.

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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.

“This is the first time that we have observed a wild animal applying a quite potent medicinal plant directly to a wound,” said co-author Isabelle Laumer, a biologist at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Konstanz, Germany.

The orangutan's intriguing behavior was recorded in 2022 by Ulil Azhari, a co-author and field researcher at the Suaq Project in Medan, Indonesia.

Photographs show the animal’s wound closed within a month without any problems.

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Scientists have been observing orangutans in Indonesia’s Gunung Leuser National Park since 1994, but they hadn’t previously seen this behavior.

“It’s a single observation," said Emory University biologist Jacobus de Roode, who was not involved in the study.

“But often we learn about new behaviors by starting with a single observation.”

"Very likely it’s self-medication,” said de Roode, adding that the orangutan applied the plant only to the wound and no other body part.

It’s possible Rakus learned the technique from other orangutans living outside the park and away from scientists' daily scrutiny, said co-author Caroline Schuppli at Max Planck.

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Rakus was born and lived as a juvenile outside the study area. Researchers believe the orangutan got hurt in a fight with another animal. It's not known whether Rakus earlier treated other injuries.

Scientists have previously recorded other primates using plants to treat themselves.

Bornean orangutans rubbed themselves with juices from a medicinal plant, possibly to reduce body pains or chase away parasites.

Chimpanzees in multiple locations have been observed chewing on the shoots of bitter-tasting plants to soothe their stomachs.

Gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos swallow certain rough leaves whole to get rid of stomach parasites.

“If this behavior exists in some of our closest living relatives, what could that tell us about how medicine first evolved?” said Tara Stoinski, president and chief scientific officer of the nonprofit Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, who had no role in the study.

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They're lounging, biting each other and generally making a ruckus in numbers not seen in more than a decade.

Millions of Australians living along the east coast have been told to brace for a soaking, with up to 100mm of rain predicted to hit parts of New South Wales this weekend.

Senior meteorologist Angus Hines told Weekend Today it would be a "very wet weekend" ahead of most of the state.

It comes as parts of Western Australia experienced its highest May rainfall total in more than 82 years.

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The Bureau of Meteorology's seven-day forecast for NSW is showing a chance of showers until Thursday next week, with the biggest impact set for the next few days.

"At the moment, the heaviest rain is falling over western parts of the state, those inland areas, the spots like Hillston are having over 50mm of rain yesterday and overnight," Hines said.

"As we get a little bit later on into the weekend, particularly Sunday, the heavier rain (will) move to that much more highly populated coastal part of the state."

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The Bureau forecasts the biggest rainfall totals will be seen in the Illawarra district and potentially parts of Sydney.

"(The rain is due) to a combination of things going on in the atmosphere, but we've got a big high-pressure area, south of Tasmania, which has just been feeding showers onto the east coast of the country all up that NSW coast all week," Hines said.

"That's why we've had that spotty off and on again rainfall all through the week so far.

"That's going to get amplified and enhanced by a disturbance in the upper atmosphere, which (will) turn that spotty, showery weather into more widespread and persistent rainy weather (tonight) and Sunday."

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Next week drier weather will return to the rest of the state, though rain will likely continue along the coast.

Meanwhile, similar conditions were recorded in Western Australia yesterday, after the state recorded large rainfall totals. 

Bunbury recorded a two-day total of 55 mm to 9am yesterday, the most rain the town has seen since August 2023.

Cowaramup also saw its largest rainfall totals in two and a half years, with 60 mm recorded during the 24 hours to 9am on Thursday.

Showers will clear in Perth and Adelaide today, both expected to reach a high of 22.

Melbourne, Canberra and Hobart will climb to a top of 17, while Brisbane will see a shower or two and a top of 24 degrees.

It will be sunny skies and warm weather in Darwin, with the city reaching a 35 degrees.