Lovely article, Mike. Giant fig trees were so common across India's landscapes growing up, we've lost so many of them to 'development'. When birdwatching, if we chance upon a ficus, it's a mandatory halt — as we're likely to see so many species. Interestingly, lore says that during drought, the last reserves of water can be found below a ficus, and most villages used have one!
Thanks Devayani. Yes, fig trees are magnets for wildlife and the best places to find large gatherings of species. Your drought story is interesting. I have heard stories from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where BaKongo people founding a new village traditionally planted fig trees (Ficus thonningii) to assess whether a site had adequate water. They said that, if the tree survived, the water spirits were happy.
Lovely article, Mike. Giant fig trees were so common across India's landscapes growing up, we've lost so many of them to 'development'. When birdwatching, if we chance upon a ficus, it's a mandatory halt — as we're likely to see so many species. Interestingly, lore says that during drought, the last reserves of water can be found below a ficus, and most villages used have one!
Thanks Devayani. Yes, fig trees are magnets for wildlife and the best places to find large gatherings of species. Your drought story is interesting. I have heard stories from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where BaKongo people founding a new village traditionally planted fig trees (Ficus thonningii) to assess whether a site had adequate water. They said that, if the tree survived, the water spirits were happy.