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The durian season is upon us and everyone is enjoying the king of fruits, including our local squirrels.
According to a local photographer, Kenneth Cheong, he was out looking for a cuckoo and an iora at Botanic Gardens on July 12 when he came across a squirrel eating durian upside down and took photos of it.
Photo courtesy of Kenneth Cheong
The plantain squirrel, commonly found in our nature parks, is highly recognisable due to its orange belly and the black and white stripes on its sides.
Hanging on to the tree branch with just its hind legs, the squirrel skillfully extracted the fruit.
Photos courtesy of Kenneth Cheong
With a strong grip on the branch, the squirrel held the fruit with just its mouth, and cleaned the durian seed of its flesh.
Some commenters added that animals are durian experts that can pick out a good fruit, as they can find the strongest smelling ones.
Screenshot from Facebook.
Another also shared a video of a macaque similarly relishing some durian.
Screenshot from Facebook.
With the durian's thick and spiked husk, other commenters wondered how the squirrel managed to get to the fruit.
Screenshot from Facebook.
Eating wild durian
For our wildlife to enjoy local fruits, members of the public are advised to not pick fruits from public land, even those that have fallen on the ground.
It is illegal to forage these fruits for consumption, as other animals rely on them as a food source while acting as seed dispersers for the trees.
So if you also want to eat durian, just go and buy them yourself.
Top images courtesy of Kenneth Cheong