This is the aguaje fruit, which originally comes from the Moriche palm tree. It's one of the most popular fruits in the Amazon rainforest, but I've never seen one outside the Amazon. It is said that the aguaje fruit brings more money into the city of Iquitos, than latex did during the rubber boom.
Harvesting the aguaje fruits is difficult and dangerous work. The aguaje fruits grow very high in the moriche palms, which have a slippery smooth bark and can grow to be over 100 feet tall. The harvester must climb the tree, or cut it down to get to the fruit before they are eaten by monkeys and birds.
Aguaje fruit makes up nearly a 1/3 of the Tapir's diet. But, because it is so valuable in the markets, people often harvest the fruit before it can drop onto the forest floor for the Tapir to eat. What would happen to the Tapir population if the aguaje were to be over-harvested?
