Indonesia, Malaysia, and
Brunei. Known as the king
of fruits, the durian has a
foul smell, described by some
as similar to rotten onions,
decaying fish, or a sewer.
Despite the smell, many
people love the fruit for its
delectable f lavor. But this is
not a unanimous opinion.
Some people can’t get past the
smell to even try tasting it. In
Malaysia, Singapore, and other
Southeast Asian countries,
eating the fruit in public is
actually illegal because the
disagreeable smell might upset
the stomachs of people nearby.
An orangutan in Borneo, an island in
Southeast Asia, feasts on the fruit of the durian
tree. Orangutans and other animals aren’t
put off by the fruit’s foul smell. The animals
help the tree by spreading undigested durian
seeds when they defecate.
Rather than attracting
pollinators, the durian fruit’s
smell is part of a larger system
of seed dispersal. In a symbiotic
adaptation, large animals, such
as pigs, orangutans, elephants,
and tigers regularly dine on
the fruit. The smell doesn’t turn the animals off. It simply alerts them
to the fruit’s location and ripeness. When the animals defecate, they
release any undigested durian seeds onto the ground. The seeds sprout
and eventually grow into more durian trees.
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P. U . , Yo u S t i n k !
