Borneo hosts 9 species of Civets (Viverridae). At least 4 species of Bornean civets eat figs frequently.
Three of these species are aboreal defecators, that is they defecate onto a branch or tree fork i.e. they carefully choose the placement location of their feces, instead of letting the feces fall to the ground.
The three aboreal defecators are the Binturong Arctictis binturong, the Masked Palm Civet Paguma larvata and the Bornean Striped Palm Civets Arctogalidia stigmatica.
A fourth omnivorous civet, the Island Palm Civet Paradoxurus philippinensis, which forages mostly at ground level, carefully places it’s feces on habitual pathways at ground level. Island Palm Civet also often climbs fig trees to eat figs but is rarely encountered at canopy level.
The Binturong (illustrated above) is a fig specialist which given the chance will eat figs in preference to all other fruits. The Masked Palm Civet is more omnivorous but also eats a lot of figs, whilst the Bornean Striped Palm Civet has a very varied diet but includes a lot of bat figs that ripen green in its diet.
Possible reasons for arboreal defecation are ( 1) The odoriferous dung is a way of marking a local territory (the fig tree) and as a warning to rival civets to keep away. (2) This behavior may be the result of co-evolution. Hemi-epiphytic stranglers start their life as a seedling in the canopy only later producing drop down aerial roots. By depositing their fig seed rich dung high in the canopy the civets are planting the future food supply of their offspring even if they do not benefit as an individual. Stranglers take around 10 years to fruit so it is unlikely that the individual civet will benefit as they will most likely be dead in 10 years. Both explanations may be relevant and are not mutually exclusive.
Arboreal defecation was first reported by zoologist Miyabi Nakabayashi (2019) whilst researching Binturong ecology at Danum Valley and Maliau Basin in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.
Nakabayashi et al (2019) Binturong Seed dispersal in the forest canopy of Borneo
For additional photographic evidence relating to Bornean civets defecating on fig trees see these links;
Ficus dubia: https://borneoficus.info/2025/06/13/ficus-dubia-camera-trapping-wildlife-on-a-50m-canopy-fig/
Ficus punctata: https://borneoficus.info/2026/03/28/binturong-fig-dispersal-at-the-belalong-canopy-walkway-brunei/
Ficus brunneoaurata & Masked Palm Civet in Borneo:https://borneoficus.info/2020/08/25/ficus-brunneoaurata-palm-civet-dispersal/
With regard to Bornean Striped Palm Civet, we are relying on anecdotal reports of similar behavior. As yet there is no photographic evidence.
See also this excellent article about Costa Rican strangling figs used as a canopy latrine by multiple mammals.
Multi-Species Canopy Latrines in Costa Rican Cloud Forests by Jeremy Quiros-Navarro et al describes related behavior involving a common Neotropical strangler Ficus tuerckheimii in the cloud forests of Costa Rica. Quirós‐Navarro et al (2026) – Multi‐Species Canopy Latrines in Costa Rican Cloud Forests
As described 17 different mammal species frequently use communal latrines in the branches of Ficus tuerckheimii.
Unlike in Borneo where it appears that dung is deposited randomly, in Costa Rica the same fig tree sites are used repeatedly as a communal latrine.
Thanks to Miyabi Nakabayashi, Mike Shanahan and the team at 1Stop Borneo for information and photographs.
