A northern tamandua – a kind of anteater – using the fig tree latrine
Tropical Canopy Ecology Project
Various tree-dwelling mammals, such as opossums, two-toed sloths, and wild cats, have been observed utilizing a shared latrine high in the forest canopy.
Jeremy Quirós-Navarro, an independent ecologist in Costa Rica at that time, stumbled upon a latrine 30 meters up a strangler fig tree while searching for a flat spot to place a camera. He noticed a natural platform covered with diverse colors and textures of feces. Subsequently, he found more latrines, all on the same tree species: Ficus tuerckheimii.
Quirós-Navarro and his team placed video traps at one latrine in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve. Two months later, they were surprised to see that 17 different mammal species had visited it.
“It was crazy,” he remarked. “It is nearly the complete roster of canopy mammals found in the cloud forest.”
On average, the latrine saw about three visits each day. Margays, a type of wild cat, marked their territory by spraying urine. Porcupines used it for both toileting and scent marking by rubbing branches. The site was also frequented by opossums, white-faced capuchins, coatis, howler monkeys, and weasels.
Even two-toed sloths, previously thought to only defecate on the ground, were seen using these latrines.
The researchers examined 170 more trees and found additional latrines, but exclusively on this species of strangler fig. Quirós-Navarro mentions that there are anecdotal accounts of strangler figs serving as latrines in Honduras and Borneo as well.
A Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine
Tropical Canopy Ecology Project
According to Neil Jordan at the University of New South Wales, Australia, this phenomenon of communal latrine use is “fascinating and highly unusual.” Jordan, who was not part of the study, points out the difficulty of studying animals 30 meters up in the canopy, which explains why this behavior hasn’t been documented before.
Ground-dwelling animals like rhinos and hyenas are also known to use communal latrines. Scientists believe these areas help animals mark territory, communicate, provide navigational aids, and consolidate waste to deter predators from tracking them.
The strangler fig is a remarkable plant that eventually encloses its host tree, often leading to its demise. Ficus tuerckheimii features a cluster of branches at canopy height resembling an “upturned hand,” says Quirós-Navarro, forming a “comfortable, protected well in the middle.”
These trees have exceptionally long branches, estimated at 12 meters, which create pathways even across rivers, making them particularly significant in the forest ecosystem.
Climbers are drawn to these trees, with some even camping on the latrine platforms. Quirós-Navarro warns that disrupting a single strangler fig could interfere with the entire communication network between forests, impacting the ecology.
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