The photo shows the Thirumurugan Hindu temple at Tawau Sabah. The statue on the RHS is Hanuman the monkey god. In the background is an old Ficus religiosa fig tree.
All photos by Chun Xing Wong of 1StopBorneo Wildlife
Ficus religiosa is native to India and mainland Asia north to Vietnam and south the the north of the Malay peninsular. However due to the association with Asian religions Ficus religiosa has been planted in the grounds of many Sikh, Hindu and Buddhist temples throughout the world including many towns in Borneo.
For Ficus religiosa to naturalize locally it needs both a population of a species specific fig wasp for pollination and a bird to disperse the fig seeds. In Borneo the birds are normally Glossy Starlings. Up to now (2020), wild naturalized Ficus religiosa has only been recorded from 3 towns in Borneo, Kota Kinabalu, Lahad Datu and Tawau but the spread is likely to be extremely rapid from now on. Most likely the pollinating fig wasps are spread by air travelers with the wasps being carried on clothes or hair.
