Site icon THE FIGS OF BORNEO

Ficus densechini: Dispersed by civets ?

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ABOVE: The arrow points to a tree trunk on the far side of the stream known as  Sungai Kemantis  at Sayap sub-station in the Kinabalu Park.

Note that the trunk is covered with a dense coat of leaves of one of the world’s rarest, largest and least known figs Ficus densechini.

Ficus densechini figs are about the size of a large orange but unlike  the large figs of Ficus punctata  a similar  liana fig,  F. densechini figs ripen yellow brown not bright orange to black. Figs that ripen dull colours such as brown and green normally attract nocturnal animals such as bats  by smell. However the figs are too large to be carried away by bats. The most likely targeted  disperser is the Masked Palm Civet .
In Borneo the Masked Palm Civet (top and bottom illustrations) is  mostly  found in hill and montane forest and is especially attracted to figs.  Another  possible disperser is the Binturong (middle illustration )  which is found up to 1,500 m in the mountains of Borneo.
A fallen male fig photographed by Shavez Cheema at Sayap Sub-station in the Kinabalu Park. Male figs are not normally eaten by any birds or mammals and rot uneaten on the ground.

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