Ficus stupenda is one of Borneo’s largest fig tees starting off as small strangler on a host tree, eventually killing its host and ending up as a stand alone canopy topping emergent.
Ficus stupenda is found throughout the wet lowland forests of Borneo but is most characteristic of hill forests and mountain slopes between 1,000 to 1,200m asl.
Fine examples can be seen in the Crocker Range, the lower slopes of Kinabalu at Sayap and the lower slopes of Gunung Trus Madi where F. stupenda towers over the surrounding mountain forest.
In the past there have been reports of groups of tiny Sculptor Squirrels Glyphotes simus which visit Ficus stupenda fig trees to feed on the latex on the underside of the leaves. This is now known to be incorrect. These Sculptor Squirrels are feeding on a layer of wax covering the mid-rib on the underside of the large leaves.
The attached two videos taken by Shavez Cheema of 1Stop Borneo Wildlife on 12 May 2024 show two Sculptor Squirrels harvesting wax from the leaves of a fruiting Ficus stupenda growing at 1,200 m on Trus Madi. The squirrels are also feeding on the fig tree bark.
Use full screen on a desktop for best views as Sculptor Squirrels are tiny.
