Was out at Berlayar Creek early to catch the eagles waking up and was distracted by a rustling in the tree behind me. It was Mr. Plantain Squirrel out for his morning's ... minerals? I as surprised to see it licking the leaves of the mangrove tree. It seemed to be interested mainly in the underside of the leaves and also the surface of the bark of a branch. It held the leaves between its hands and licked it like a child doing his favourite ice-cream flavour justice. Occasionally, it plucked off a leaf from a branch and licked it before discarding it.
Mangrove trees are able to live in salt water due to their ability to excrete salt from their leaves (and possibly woody branches as well going by what the squirrel in this video clip did towards the end). This allows the mangrove trees to regulate the salt content within their vascular system.
Time : 0715am
