We use feces to investigate diet and activity areas of butaan. In total we have examined more than 1500 samples, possibly the largest ever collected for a single population of reptiles.
Butaan and their relatives are huge specialised frugivores, much bigger
than any other specialised frugivorous animal in the Philippines. They
need a constant supply of fruit but lack the wings that allow other
frugivores to forage in different forest fragments. Large and immobile,
the butaan depends on a very narrow range of foods.
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