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The day a fruit fell from above…

on 6th November 2014

One evening at around 19:30 hours, Rosemary Chng was standing outside the gate of her house under a Trumpet tree (Tabebuia sp.). Suddenly she gave a yell when something landed on her head. Her boys were amused as they thought she was ‘delusional’. By then Rosemary was nursing a small ‘buah duku’ on her head. Buah duku is Malay for the Duku (Lansium domesticum), a local fruit that comes in bunches of small round fruits. People usually refer to bumps on the head as buah dukes.

So you can take it that Rosemary got a two-in-one deal, two fruits for the price of one. The fruit that fell on her head was that of the Sea Apple (Syzygium grande) (top). Her son Aaron eventually found the offending fruit on the ground nearby. But she was not standing under a Sea Apple tree. And although this tree is commonly planted along the roadside, etc. (below), there are no such trees anywhere nearby.

When she examined the fruit, there were distinct teeth marks on it. Coming from above could only be from a Common Fruit Bat (Cynopterus brachyotis) that flew over her. These bats normally pick fruits from trees and fly to their favourite roost to eat LINK 1 and LINK 2. And along the way this particular bat must have lost its grip on the fruit.

Dr Leong Tzi Ming, who has been studying bats around Singapore, was asked about the markings on the fruit. His answer: “the cross-section of the bat’s canines would be triangular.”

Credits: Rosemary Chng (image of fruit), YC Wee (image of tree) & Dr Leong Tzi Ming (interpretation).

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

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