A variety of canopy-dwelling mammals in Costa Rica's cloud forests have been observed using communal latrines in strangler fig trees. Ecologist Jeremy Quirós-Navarro discovered the sites high in the canopy, where 17 species leave feces and scent marks. The finding highlights unusual social behavior among typically solitary animals.
In the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, independent ecologist Jeremy Quirós-Navarro stumbled upon a latrine 30 meters up a strangler fig tree (Ficus tuerckheimii) while scouting for a camera spot. The natural platform was covered in feces of various colors and textures. Further investigation revealed more such sites, exclusively in this tree species, after checking 170 others. Video traps at one latrine captured 17 mammal species over two months, nearly all canopy mammals in the area. Visits occurred about three times a day. Margays sprayed urine to mark territory, porcupines rubbed branches to leave scent, and species including opossums, white-faced capuchins, coatis, howler monkeys, weasels and even two-toed sloths—which were previously thought to defecate only on the ground—used the site. Quirós-Navarro described the discovery as 'crazy,' noting it encompassed almost the total number of canopy mammals in the cloud forest. Neil Jordan at the University of New South Wales called the toilet-sharing 'fascinating and highly unusual,' attributing the late detection to the challenges of studying the canopy. Similar communal latrines exist among ground animals like rhinos and hyenas, used for territory marking, information exchange and predator avoidance. Strangler figs form branch clusters like an upturned hand, creating protected wells, with branches up to 12 meters long serving as forest highways, even across rivers. Quirós-Navarro worries that human climbers camping on these platforms could disrupt ecological communication between forest areas. Anecdotal reports suggest similar latrines in strangler figs in Honduras and Borneo. The research appears in Ecology and Evolution (DOI: 10.1002/ece3.72964).
