Horse-Tailed Squirrel feeding in fruiting fig at Deramakot, Sabah

This is the first known record of a Horse-tailed Squirrel feeding on fig fruits in Borneo.

Horse-tailed squirrels are known to specialize in feeding on hard nuts  including  lithocarpus acorns and hard canarium nuts, but normally avoid soft fruits.

Also feeding in this fruiting Ficus cucurbitina fig were Prevosts Squirrels, Bornean Palm Civets, a binturong and four Bornean primate species, including orangutans, gibbons, red langurs and Pig-tailed Macaques.

The camera trap also recorded a Yellow-throated Marten which was probably targeting the squirrels.

A big thank you to  the Sabah Forest Department,  especially Johnny Kissing , the District Forest Officer at Deramakot,  his assistant Jack Edwards and  Datuk Fred Kugan, Chief Conservator of Forests  for their support of wildlife research and conservation  projects at Deramakot.

Thanks  also to Yulinda Wahyuni, Shavez Cheema and Chun Xing Wong of 1Stop Borneo Wildlife