How Bush Pigs Saved Madagascar’s Baobabs丛林猪如何拯救马达加斯加的猴面包树

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The Malagasy baobab tree， whose thick trunks and tiny branches dot Madagascar’s landscape， could not， by rights， have survived to the present day. Scientists believe that its large seeds were once dispersed by the giant tortoises and giant lemurs that roamed the island. When these species went extinct over one thousand years ago owing to human activity， the baobab tree should have vanished too.

It did not. Seheno Andriantsaralaza at the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar and Onja Razafindratsima at the University of California， Berkeley， the US， think they may know the reason why.

Together with their colleagues， the scientists monitored 15 tree canopies in a western region of Madagascar， to identify any animals that might have claimed the mantle of baobab-seed disperser. The researchers also set up camera traps around seed-containing fruits lying on the ground， and searched any faeces that they encountered along the way for the presence of seeds.

马达加斯加的猴面包树以其粗壮的树干和细小的树枝点缀着当地的风景。（剩余2376字）