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The Indian giant squirrel or Malabar giant squirrel (''Ratufa indica'') is a large multi-coloured
tree squirrel Tree squirrels are the members of the squirrel family (Sciuridae) commonly just referred to as "squirrels." They include more than 100 arboreal species native to all continents except Antarctica and Oceania. They do not form a single natural, o ...
species
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to forests and woodlands in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. It is a diurnal,
arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the Animal locomotion, locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. Th ...
, and mainly
herbivorous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...
squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...
.


Distribution and habitat

This species is
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to India, with main sections of its distribution in the Western Ghats,
Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats pass through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka as well as Telangana. They are eroded and cut ...
and
Satpura Range The Satpura Range is a range of hills in central India. The range rises in eastern Gujarat running east through the border of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and ends in Chhattisgarh. The range parallels the Vindhya Range to the north, and these ...
as far north as
Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
(approximately 22° N). It is found at altitudes of in tropical
deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
,
semi-deciduous Semi-deciduous or semi-evergreen is a botanical term which refers to plants that lose their foliage for a very short period, when old leaves fall off and new foliage growth is starting. This phenomenon occurs in tropical and sub-tropical woody spe ...
(where often utilizing denser riparian growth), and moist
evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
forests and woodlands. In general, its distribution is fragmented because it is intolerant of habitat degradation. The Indian giant squirrel generally nests in taller trees with a mean height of (± SD) in order to avoid predators.


Description

The Indian giant squirrel is one of the largest squirrels, with a head–and–body length of , a tail that is about the same or somewhat longer, and a weight of , although rarely up to . Average for both sexes is about in head–and–body length, in tail length and in weight. It has a conspicuous one-, two-, or three-toned colour scheme. The colours involved can be whitish,
creamy Creamy were a Faroese-Danish teen-pop duo, composed of Rebekka Mathew and Rannva Joensen. Their 1999 debut album, ''Creamy'', made when the pair were just thirteen years of age, was composed of euro-pop versions of children’s songs. In 2001 ...
-
beige Beige is variously described as a pale sandy fawn color, a grayish tan, a light-grayish yellowish brown, or a pale to grayish yellow. It takes its name from French, where the word originally meant natural wool that has been neither bleached nor ...
,
buff Buff or BUFF may refer to: People * Buff (surname), a list of people * Buff (nickname), a list of people * Johnny Buff, ring name of American world champion boxer John Lisky (1888–1955) * Buff Bagwell, a ring name of American professional ...
,
tan Tan or TAN may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Black and Tans, a nickname for British special constables during the Irish War of Independence. By extension "Tans" can now also colloquially refer to English or British people in general, es ...
,
rust Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH ...
, reddish-
maroon Maroon ( US/ UK , Australia ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word ''marron'', or chestnut. "Marron" is also one of the French translations for "brown". According to multiple dictionaries, there are var ...
, brown, dark
seal brown Seal brown is a rich dark brown color, resembling the color of the dyed fur from the fur seal. Usage The specifications for the U.S. Army Air Corps Type A-2 jacket (regulation summer flying jacket), adopted in 1931 and the most familiar among a ...
, or black. The underparts and the front legs are usually cream coloured, and the head can be brown or beige, and there is a distinctive white spot between the ears. Otherwise the colours depend on the
subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
.


Subspecies

Ten subspecies have been described, but recent authorities generally recognise four: *''R. i. indica'': Found in the northern and central Western Ghats from around
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
to
Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
. Its upper parts and basal half of the tail are rich reddish-maroon or reddish-brown; the distal part of the tail is whitish or buff. On occasion there can be some black at the shoulder or at the very base of the tail (features typically associated with other subspecies). A few other subspecies have been described within its range based on variations in size, overall colour hue and width of the pale tail-tip, but recent authorities generally regard them as
synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
of ''R. i. indica''. *''R. i. centralis'': From central and eastern India, notably in the Satpura Range and Eastern Ghats (all other subspecies are from the Western Ghats region). It is relatively small and further differs from ''R. i. indica'' by its black shoulder region, black tail except for the pale tip, and sometimes black rump. *''R. i. dealbata'': Found in southern
Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
(far northern Western Ghats region), but recent surveys have failed to locate it, and it is possibly
extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
. A highly distinctive pale subspecies that is overall creamy-buff with a whitish tail and brown ears. It should not be confused with true
albino Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albino. Varied use and interpretation of the term ...
s, rarely recorded in the Indian giant squirrel, which are whiter and have pink eyes unlike ''R. i. dealbata''. *''R. i. maxima'': From southern Western Ghats. It resembles a large ''R. i. centralis'', but with more extensive black in the shoulder region and on the rump, and an almost entirely black tail (no pale tip). There is often a black dorsal stripe connecting the black shoulder region and rump. Another subspecies, ''R. i. bengalensis'', has been described from southern Karnataka and northern
Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
, in between ''R. i. indica'' and ''R. i. maxima''. It generally resembles ''R. i. indica'', but the tail is black except for its pale tip and sometimes it has black shoulders, thus approaching ''R. i. maxima'' or ''R. i. centralis''. Its intermediate appearance and distribution has caused some questions about its validity; it could be regarded as an
intergrade In zoology, intergradation is the way in which two distinct subspecies are connected via areas where populations are found that have the characteristics of both. There are two types of intergradation: primary and secondary intergradation. Primary ...
and recent authorities often treat it as a synonym of ''R. i. maxima''.


Behaviour

The Indian giant squirrel is an upper-canopy dwelling species, which rarely leaves the trees, and requires "tall profusely branched trees for the construction of nests." It travels from tree to tree with jumps of up to . When in danger, the ''Ratufa indica'' often freezes or flattens itself against the tree trunk, instead of fleeing. Its main predators are the
birds of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predators ...
like owls and the
leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...
. The Giant Squirrel is mostly active in the early hours of the morning and in the evening, resting in the midday. They are typically solitary animals that only come together for breeding. The species is believed to play a substantial role in shaping the ecosystem of its habitat by engaging in seed dispersal. Diet includes fruit, flowers, nuts and tree bark. Some subspecies are omnivorous, also eating insects and bird eggs.


Family life

The Indian giant squirrel lives alone or in pairs. They build large globular nests of twigs and leaves, placing them on thinner branches where large predators can't get to them. These nests become conspicuous in deciduous forests during the dry season. An individual may build several nests in a small area of forest which are used as sleeping quarters, with one being used as a nursery.


Reproduction

Captive breeding of the
Malayan giant squirrel The black giant squirrel or Malayan giant squirrel (''Ratufa bicolor'') is a large tree squirrel in the genus '' Ratufa'' native to the Indomalayan zootope. It is found in forests from northern Bangladesh, northeast India, eastern Nepal, Bhutan, ...
, a close relative has indicated births in March, April, September and December. The young weigh 74.5 g at birth and have a length of 27.3 cm. In Canara, the Indian Giant Squirrel has been spotted with young in March.


Recognition

The Indian giant squirrel (''shekaru'' in
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...
) is the
state animal This is a list of animals that represent first-level administrative country subdivisions. List by country Australia Brazil * See also List of Brazilian state birds Canada People's Republic of China India Indonesia Italy Japan ...
of the state of
Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
in western India.


References

* * *


Further reading

* * * * * * *


External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2668978 Ratufa Rodents of India Endemic fauna of India Symbols of Maharashtra Mammals described in 1777 Taxa named by Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben