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1St Cover Nov Issue.Indd SHORT FEATURE BIJUIJU DHARMAPALAN AND SHONE THOMAS The Indian giant squirrel photographed from the Periyar Tiger Reserve area (Photo: Shone Thomas) visit to any deciduous evergreen forest in peninsular India A would be welcomed with the presence of a small mammal with its unique barking sound and coloured fur. A peculiar animal known for its shyness and lightning pace, the Indian giant squirrel is an a raction for every wildlife enthusiast. Ratufa indica, as it is named scientifi cally, the giant squirrel is endemic to India. It is the state animal of Maharashtra. The Indian giant squirrel is a Schedule–II animal, according to the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 which provides it absolute protection and is classifi ed as of Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature). The Indian giant squirrel is one of the world’s most beautiful squirrels. They have two or three tone colour scheme with shades Indian giant squirrel feeding on fruits of black, brown, and deep red. The colour of its body is deep red (Photo: Shone Thomas) to brown, and it has white furs in the belly area. The under parts and the front legs are usually dirty white or cream coloured. The The Indian giant squirrel is omnivorous, feeding on fruits, ears are round, a pronounced hand with an inner paw that is of fl owers, nuts, bark, bird eggs, and insects. They feed by standing course used for gripping. on the hind legs and using their hands to handle the food. They also use their large tail as a counter-weight, improving their The squirrel generally stays high in the forest canopy, rarely balance. leaving the trees. It is diurnal which means it is active during the day and sleeps at night. It makes its shelter within holes in The Indian giant squirrel shares with monkeys, the habit trees. The Giant Squirrel’s large tail is used for balancing, and of scolding, barking and raising a general alarm, when any allowing it to move quickly, running and jumping even on thin suspicious objective is sighted. branches. It rarely leaves the trees, usually only to chase other They prefer tall profusely branched trees for the construction squirrels during the breeding season. They are wary and shy in of nests. Nest construction is generally completed within 2.5 nature. They live alone or in pairs. They are mostly active in the hours. They build large globe-shaped nests by depositing a large early hours of the morning and in the evening, and resting in the number of twigs with leaves, mainly forked twigs. The leaves are midday. arranged in three to four layers between the twigs. The nests are Science Reporter, NOVEMBER 2016 54 SHORT FEATURE Indian Giant Squirrel staying in tree holes Sharing home-range with monkeys (Photo: Biju Dharmapalan) (Photo: Biju Dharmapalan) only noticeable in the dry seasons but it has been noted that a single squirrel can build several nests. The squirrel uses one for a nursery and the others it uses for rest and sleep. It seems the Indian Giant squirrel does not like to share a room with the kids. An individual will o en have 2 to 5 nests in a small area of forest which are used as sleeping quarters, with one being used specifi cally for giving birth and nursing the young. The occurrence of multiple nest phenomenon might also help them to escape from predators like Langur and Rhesus monkey or to provide protection from climatic Indian giant squirrel feeding on fl owers factors like temperature, cold and rain. They also use tree holes (Photo: Shone Thomas) as shelter. Both sexes are almost similar, but females can be Apart from being an indicator species for structurally distinguished from males by their three sets of mammae. The diverse forests, arboreal squirrels play an important role in seed- squirrel lives on its own or in a mating pair. Breeding occurs dispersal. The Seeds form a majority portion of their food item, throughout the year, or several times during the year. Males bark, pith, fl owers, fruit pulp and fi gs were consumed as per actively compete for females during the breeding season and the availability. Squirrels are known to assist in germination of pairs may remain associated for longer periods of time. The a few hardwood species by terrestrial seed hoarding and also average number of off spring is 1 or 2. The gestation period is provide food resources to avian frugivores in the vicinity. Fungi between 29 to 35 days. The average lifespan of Indian giant also form a part of the squirrel’s diet and thus assists in dispersal squirrel is 20 years. of fungi in the forests. Although arboreal squirrels are known to damage fruits in Indian giant squirrels are preyed upon by many medium orchards, feed on crops and cause injuries to trees by debarking, and large-sized predators such as cats, civet cats, raptors, and they also provide certain valuable ecosystem services and snakes. But the main casualty is caused by human beings who therefore have an important role in biodiversity conservation. hunt it for meat, without caring for its Schedule II category. Ecological studies on Indian giant squirrel Ratufa indica have Habitat destruction for developmental works like road pointed out the importance of canopy connectivity, tall trees, construction, building construction by the local community and contiguous forest patches and presence of lianas for supporting government departments are adversely aff ecting its habitat. The viable population of the species. expansion of monoculture plantations like teak and rubber near the forest areas is also aff ecting its survival. Injudicious tourism related activities also adversely aff ect the population of the Indian giant squirrel. In the Periyar wild life sanctuary it was observed that tourists disturb them during their resting period by pelting stones, compelling them to fi nd a new tree canopy. This indirectly aff ects the forest canopy of that area as the propagation of that particular tree is dependent on these Indian giant squirrels. Even though a small animal any decline in its population signals a deteriorating ecosystem. It’s high time we take serious measures to protect this unique species from extinction. Mr Biju Dharmapalan is Assistant Professor & HoD, School of Biosciences, Mar Athanasios College For Advanced Studies (MACFAST), Tiruvalla-689101, Nest building by Indian Giant Squirrel Kerala; E-mail: [email protected]/[email protected] (Photo credit: www.google.co.in) Mr Shone Thomas is a M.Sc. Biochemistry Student, School of Biosciences, Mar Athanasios College for Advanced Studies, Tiruvalla 55 Science Reporter, NOVEMBER 2016.
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