Camera Traps Reveal Endangered Species Feast in Borneo’s Fig Trees
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📰 The quick summary: Camera traps installed high in Borneo’s rainforest canopy have captured over 10,000 images of critically endangered species and other wildlife feeding on fig trees, revealing critical ecological relationships that support forest conservation.
📈 One key stat: Camera traps in just two fig trees documented three primate species simultaneously feeding together, highlighting these trees’ crucial role as biodiversity hotspots in Borneo’s rainforests.
💬 One key quote: “These are high-value trees which should never be cut down. And since they’re wildlife’s favorite food, these individual trees are the best to plant,” said Shavez Cheema, founder of 1StopBorneo Wildlife.
1️⃣ The big picture: Camera traps installed in the canopy of two enormous fig trees in Malaysian Borneo have successfully documented remarkable wildlife diversity, capturing over 10,000 images of animals feeding on figs. Biologists from 1StopBorneo Wildlife, Sabah Parks, and local conservationists set up 16 cameras in Tawau Hills National Park, recording critically endangered species like Bornean orangutans and helmeted hornbills alongside other rare animals. For the first time in Malaysia, this technology has revealed previously hidden ecological relationships, including multiple primate species feeding together simultaneously and seed dispersal activities crucial for forest regeneration. This innovative approach provides visual evidence of fig trees’ importance as wildlife magnets in tropical ecosystems.
2️⃣ Why is this good news: Arboreal camera trapping offers a revolutionary approach to documenting biodiversity in hard-to-observe forest canopies, providing verifiable data without the discomfort and limitations of traditional field observation methods. The technology revealed rare species rarely seen by researchers, including the endangered Sabah gray leaf monkey, appearing almost daily on camera despite being spotted only once in nine years by traditional methods. These findings demonstrate fig trees function as critical biodiversity hotspots, supporting multiple endangered species simultaneously and facilitating important ecological processes like seed dispersal. The visual evidence strengthens conservation arguments for protecting existing fig trees and supports 1StopBorneo Wildlife’s initiative to plant more figs at reforestation sites across Sabah to restore logged forests and reconnect fragmented wildlife corridors.
3️⃣ What’s next: 1StopBorneo Wildlife plans to use the compelling camera trap footage to demonstrate fig trees’ ecological importance to conservation funders and policymakers. The organization is already planting fig trees at four reforestation sites across Sabah to help restore logged forest patches. This data-backed approach aims to strengthen protection for existing fig trees while guiding strategic reforestation efforts focused on these high-value species.
Read the full story here: Mongabay – Arboreal camera traps reveal wildlife feasting on Borneo’s fruiting fig trees
