Jeremiah Loei‘s video clip of a squirrel and a monkey eating durians (Durio zibethinus) high up in the tree was documented at Bukit Batok Nature Park in 2012. The squirrel had gnawed open the hard, thorny fruit to get at the succulent seeds (above). A Long-tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis) was also around, eating from another durian (below). Squirrels are one of the few animals capable of dealing with durians before they fall onto the ground . Most probably the macaque came after the squirrel as the former would not be able to gnaw through the fruit.
Once an opening is made on the durian fruit, various species of birds will arrive to pick what remains in the exposed fruit LINK.
Durian fruits generally drop from the branches of the tree when ripe. The fall will invariably split open the segments to allow ground animals like elephants, wild pigs, rats and even monkeys to get access to the seeds inside.
Jeremiah Loel
Singapore
23rd January 2018
This post is a cooperative effort between Birds, Insects N Creatures Of Asia and BESG to bring the study of birds and their behavior through photography and videography to a wider audience.
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