Sri Lankan Giant Squirrel

About this species

Size

Head and body 25–45cm; tail equal or longer

Diet

Fruits, nuts, insects, bird eggs and tree bark

Habitat

Hill forest and riverside forest; almost completely arboreal

Range

Sri Lanka, and southern India (Kaveri River forests and hill forests of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala)

Litter size

1–2 young

The grizzled giant squirrel is a large tree squirrel and the smallest of the giant squirrels of the Indian subcontinent. Head and body length is 25–45 cm and the tail is about the same or longer, giving a total length of 50–90 cm. It has a grizzled grey or brownish-grey tail with white highlights, and body colour varies from brown and red to grey and black (Wikipedia, general species account; Animal Diversity Web).

In India it is found in patches of riparian forest along the Kaveri River and in the hill forests of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala; the easternmost population was found in the Pakkamalai Reserve Forest in eastern Tamil Nadu. It is almost completely arboreal, active in the morning and early evening, territorial, and lives alone or in pairs. In the breeding season it builds a large nest, and litters are one or two. It eats fruit, nuts, insects, bird eggs and bark (Animal Diversity Web; Wikipedia, general species account).

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