When a human has a sudden need to take a number two, they might seek out a public bathroom. When mammals in the cloud forests of Costa Rica need to defecate, they do something similar. But porcupines, kinkajous and even sloths don’t search for a convenient porta-potty. Instead, they zero in on a strangler fig.
A survey of 169 trees found 11 latrines—all of them in the major forks of the strangler fig tree (Ficus tuerckheimii). A camera trap at one arboreal potty captured 17 different species visiting the spot. The findings, published March 16 in Ecology and Evolution, suggest that treetop toilets might provide communication hubs across mammal