Photo credit: Zac Mills, the Wildlife Collective
Orangutans are known as the gardeners of the forest. As they move through the forest, they eat a massive amount of fruit and spread seeds through their poop — acting as a literal seed bomb. While scientists have long known that orangutans play an important role in seed dispersal and forest health, it was unclear just how many seeds they disperse and whether those seeds could even sprout after being digested.
Early studies suggested that 94% of faecal samples contain intact seeds. The same study found 111 seeds per poo. A more recent study found seeds in 73% of orangutan faeces, with 828 seeds found in one poo. The seeds varied in size from a few millimetres to two and a half centimetres.
To find out, researchers collected seeds from faeces and seeds that orangutans chew and spit out during eating. They collected ripe seeds as a control group and then placed them in peat soil and tissue paper. Interestingly, seeds that were either spat out or defecated by orangutans germinated quicker, compared to fresh seeds.
Orangutans eat hundreds of different fruit species and travel over long distances each day. They are vital to rainforest health. The disappearance of orangutans would have cascading effects throughout the ecosystem. This loss would have a much wider-reaching impact on forest diversity than the loss of orangutans alone. We must protect, connect and rewild their forest home.
References:
You can help protect Sumatra's Orangutans. Click to get updates
