I know someone who had not even tried coconuts prior. It was fun that she watched a monkey at an animal zoo eating the fruit.
Then she looked at me and asked, aside from monkeys and humans, what animals consume coconuts?. I quickly responded.
Coconut-loving animals are typically herbivores or omnivores. This includes elephants, gorillas, sun bears, bats, coconut crabs, and many others. Coconut is a nutrient-rich fruit in nutrients and is perfect for animals out in nature.
Although it has a tough hard husk, Animals have discovered ways to get coconut meat and water. Certain animals use tools, while others rely on extreme strength, sharp teeth, and claws.
Learn more about the animals who consume coconuts.
Animals That Eat Coconuts
- Monkeys
- Gorillas
- Aye-aye
- Elephants
- Fruit Bats
- Rats
- Monkey
Monkeys are great climbers, and those found in places such as Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia are trained to collect coconuts.
It’s often regarded as equivalent to animal cruelty since whether monkeys have the right to consume coconuts is still a matter of debate.
The monkeys are usually rescued from the wild and then trained to find and collect coconuts. In certain instances, the monkeys are taught not to eat coconuts.
Although monkeys are reported to drink coconut juice in wild settings, they are also famous for their ingenuity when using methods to cut open coconuts to get the inside flesh.
They usually eat the coconut flesh of coconuts in their early stages, as mature coconuts have a tough, fibrous outer layer that is difficult for these animals to break open.
Researchers’ opinions vary on which monkey species consume coconuts. Here is an additional explanation of monkeys eating coconuts.
Gorillas
Gorillas are herbivores belonging to the ape family. They are known to eat coconuts in the wild, and when they’re breeding in captivity, they’re provided with regular diets of coconuts that are ripe.
Gorillas are known to eat both older and younger coconuts. They typically open the Coconut by hitting it with a stone or striking the seed.
When they crack open their Coconut, they will only take in the flesh within the Coconut. This makes it much easier for the gorillas to scrape away the flesh.
Gorillas are potent creatures with solid jaws that could let them rip through the fibrous outer layer of Coconut if they were to.
The fruit isn’t just packed with calories but is also high in vitamins and minerals.
Gorillas, particularly those bred in captivity, need to be fed nutritious food to maintain their weight.
They must consume around 40lbs of calories each day to maintain their healthy weight and bone strength.
Aye-aye
It’s a rare lemur with a squirrel-like appearance located in Madagascar. It is easily identifiable due to its large eyes.
Aye-ayes are found in tall trees. They’re often seen eating coconuts.
An aye-aye is a long finger perfect for scraping out the Coconut’s flesh.
Aye-ayes don’t need to wait for their fruit to drop off the tree. The unique hand shape of the aye-aye is capable of breaking young coconuts that are hanging from trees.
Aye-ayes can easily remove Coconut’s fibrous and green outer layer by scraping it off with their sharp fingertips.
In addition, the long third finger could easily cause cracks within the outer layer of the Coconut’s early stage, making it much easier for the lemur to crack open the whole Coconut.
When it can break, cut the fruit open by scraping it, and the removal of the flesh becomes a breeze for the animal.
Elephants
Elephants are enormous herbivores that eat a wide range of plants. They’re so large that they consume as much as 300 pounds of plants.
In terms of their diet, they mainly eat grass, hay, and legumes. Elephants have sturdy trunks that break easily and permit them to consume tree matter, like tea leaves.
But, these big mammals’ diets aren’t only limited to trees and greenery. They also have a craving for vegetables and fruits.
In their diet choices, Coconut is among their fruit. Elephants make use of their body power and weight to crack open coconuts.
The large mammals begin walking on the Coconut. They put the Coconut on the mud to stop it from breaking open instantly.
Elephants enter the Coconut, allowing it to melt its hard casing. After walking onto the Coconut several times, the big animals will begin biting it to gain access to the inside.
Fruit Bats
Fruit bats, scientifically referred to as Pteropodidae, are tropical bats. They differ from other bats by their dog-like appearance.
While they look like small predators, bats’ diet comprises berries, fruits, and even leaves. They will eat the fruits, then fly back home to the nest where they’ve built.
It is believed that fruit bats constantly desire mangoes and bananas, wild dates and. However, they’ve also been observed to have a preference for coconuts.
Interestingly, the fruit bats are more interested in savoring the coconut flowers. In reality, these mammals are nectar and flower-eaters.
Thanks to this diet, bats pollinate like bees. This is why it makes sense that fruit bats favor flowers instead of fruits.
While bats are fruit-loving animals, their coconut-based diet is one they’re unsure about including in their diet. They cannot break open the Coconut.
The coconut flowers are working for the flowers.
Rats
The final members of the list that consume coconuts are rats.
Rats are generally considered a nuisance in many parts of the world. The rodents can destroy healthy crops or take advantage of our trash.
Rats are considered filthy and carry bacteria as well as viruses. They are omnivores. That makes their diets able to almost anything from fruit to insects.
Therefore, it’s not a surprise that these animals can consume Coconut. Similar to Polynesian rats, rats make holes in coconuts to access their food source.
Despite the size of their bodies and how strong rodents are dependent on their tiny nibble teeth to cut an opening. Rats on the atolls of Tokelau consume a diet primarily consisting of Coconut.
A new massive rat called Vangunu was found on the Solomon Islands. The giant rodent is capable of breaking open coconuts using its teeth.
In contrast to other rats who bite to make holes, Vangunu can cut open coconuts. They like taking coconut flesh and sipping coconut water.
Do monkeys eat young coconuts?
Certain monkeys eat young coconuts like the Macaque-tailed pig and the gray langur.
The monkeys tear from the fibrous exterior layer of coconuts and eat the coconut flesh left over from young coconuts.
Monkeys are great climbers; they can tear coconuts out of the trees and then throw them onto the ground.
The impact of the fall can result in the fruits cracking into pieces, making it easier for monkeys to consume young coconuts.
Can monkeys drink coconut water?
Recently, extreme heat caused animals to be in a problematic position bred in captivity to live in many regions of the world.
Zookeepers also gave animals such as bears and monkeys coconut water to assist them in getting through the heat.
Coconut water that was soft helped creatures extraordinary and also kept them well-hydrated.
It was also observed that monkeys adored coconut water and that it helped them cope with the heat wave more effectively. But, they did keep waiting for their regular intake of coconut water.
Are monkeys the ones who harvest coconuts?
True, but sad. Monkeys are utilized to collect coconuts in nations such as Thailand. In Thailand, monkeys are used to remove coconuts from the trees.
The animals are taught and brutalized to ensure that they remove the fruit from the trees without eating them.
Yet, PETA and other bodies that stop exploiting animals are fighting against using monkeys to harvest coconuts.
Conclusion
The creatures that love coconuts are gorillas, aye, and bears. They also have rhinoceros beetles, monkeys, coconut crabs, and elephants, to mention just some.
