Subscribe to one of our news e-mail lists. The loss of the forest, located on the island of Borneo and regarded as a unique ecosystem, would put a huge dent in the global economy. Dipterocarps are the main family of rain forest canopy trees in Indonesian Borneo. It's like Thanksgiving in the forest. Wild boar, orangutans, parakeets, jungle fowl, partridges and other animals congregate to stuff themselves.
Local villagers collect baskets of seeds called illipe nuts to sell as a cash crop.
Yet, since so much seed is produced, there is still enough leftover to germinate and produce a carpet of new seedlings. Seed predators, who can not find food outside the park, move inside the park to eat the dipterocarp seeds before they germinate. Pages will open in a new browser window External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you.