OtterKnow Kids Encyclopedia

The strangler fig has one of the wildest life stories of any tree in the rainforest! It starts out as a tiny seed that a bird or monkey drops high up in the branches of another tree. The strangler fig lives in tropical rainforests all around the world.

The little seed sprouts way up in the canopy, then sends long roots all the way down to the ground, sometimes dropping more than a hundred feet! As the fig grows bigger, its roots wrap tighter around the first tree, like a giant woody cage. Eventually, the tree inside slowly dies and rots away, leaving the strangler fig standing with a hollow center.

• When the original tree is gone, the strangler fig is like a tree with a secret room inside!
• Animals like owls, bats, and snakes sometimes live in these cool hollow spaces.
• Strangler figs are super important because they make fruit all year long, feeding hundreds of animals including monkeys, parrots, and fruit bats.