Indian Giant Squirrel

About this species

Size

Head and body 25–50cm; tail about as long or longer

Weight

1.5–2kg, rarely up to 3kg

Diet

Fruit, flowers, nuts and bark; occasionally insects and bird eggs

Habitat

Tropical deciduous, semi-deciduous and moist evergreen forest, 180–2,300m

Range

Endemic to India: Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats and Satpura hills north to Madhya Pradesh

The Indian giant squirrel, or Malabar giant squirrel, is one of the largest squirrels in the world, with a bushy tail as long as or longer than its body. It is boldly coloured in one, two or three tones that vary between populations, from cream and buff through rust and maroon to dark brown or black. The underparts and front legs are usually cream, and a white spot between the ears is a good field mark. (Wikipedia, general species account).

This squirrel lives in the upper canopy and rarely comes down, leaping up to 6 m between trees. It is most active early in the morning and in the evening and rests at midday. When threatened it tends to freeze or press itself flat against a trunk rather than run; owls and leopards are its main predators. It lives alone or in pairs and builds several large, globe-shaped nests of twigs and leaves on thin outer branches, which become easy to spot in deciduous forest in the dry season. It helps disperse the seeds of the trees it feeds in (Wikipedia, general species account).

The species is found only in India, and it is Maharashtra's state animal. In the semi-evergreen and evergreen forest of Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary in the northern Western Ghats, a survey along 60 km of transects estimated about 13.9 squirrels per km² and examined 4,224 nests in 52 tree species, with wild mango, Olea dioica and Mallotus philippensis used most. The authors note that the squirrel depends on intact forest and suffers where it is fragmented (Rathod, Bharucha and Yardi 2022).

Description: Wildlife of India guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)