Context
The Giant Malabar Squirrel was recently sighted in the Devpur forest area of Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary in Chhattisgarh, highlighting the occurrence of this species in the region.
About Giant Malabar Squirrel
- The Giant Malabar Squirrel with scientific name Ratufa indica, also known as the Indian Giant Squirrel, is a large tree-dwelling squirrel species endemic to India and one of the largest squirrels in the world.
- It is the State Animal of Maharashtra and is popularly known as Shekru.
- The species is mainly distributed across the Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats, and Satpura Range.
- It inhabits tropical deciduous, semi-evergreen, and evergreen forests at elevations ranging from 180 to 2,300 metres.
- The squirrel is an arboreal species and spends most of its life in the forest canopy, where it nests in tree hollows and moves between trees through long leaps.
- It is known for its multicoloured coat, long tail, and strong claws that help it move efficiently through trees.
- The species is generally solitary in nature and is usually seen alone except during the breeding season.
- When threatened, it often remains motionless or flattens itself against a tree trunk as a defensive strategy.
- The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified the species as Least Concern on its Red List.
