CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE FUNAMBULUS SPP., THE STRIPED PALM SQUIRRELS 21.1 The Living Animal 21.1.1 Zoology The striped palm squirrels are small rodents with a head and body length of about 13–15 cm, and a tail which is slightly longer than the body (Plate 29). The two common species of South Asia are the three-striped or southern Indian palm squirrel (Funambulus palmarum) with three white stripes running along its dark brown back, and the fi ve-striped or northern Indian palm squirrel (F. pennanti) with two additional white stripes running on the fl anks, parallel to the three dorsal stripes.1 The most important difference between the two spe- cies is that the fi ve-striped squirrel is essentially commensal with man. It has become almost as dependent on man for food and shelter as house rats and mice, and lives in crowded towns, cities and villages where it shelters in houses, gardens, groves, hedges and in roadside trees. The three-striped squirrel, on the contrary, is a forest animal. It has a particularly shrill bird-like call which it repeats again and again, accompanied by quick jerks of its tail. Both species inhabit the Indian peninsula from the base of the Himalayas southwards, but the fi ve-striped squirrel is more common in northern India, particularly in the drier and more arid portions and extends into the dry plains of the South. The three-striped squirrel predominates in the South, and in the moister parts of western and eastern India. Both species may, however, occur in the same area. 1 Two other Indian striped squirrels are the dusky-striped squirrel (Funambulus sub- lineatus) and the Himalayan striped squirrel (Callosciurus macclellandi). The fi rst squirrel has three pale stripes on a dark brown background, as if it is a bleached three-striped squirrel, and lives in the forests of south Indian hill ranges and Sri Lanka. The second squirrel has alternating black, brown, and buff stripes and lives in the hill forests of the Eastern Himalayas and Assam. These two squirrels keep to the densest cover, and are hardly ever seen. striped palm squirrels 271 21.1.2 Related Species There are non-striped squirrels on the subcontinent as well, but they all keep to dense cover, and are hardly seen. The Himalayan squirrels are the orange-bellied squirrel (Dremomys lokriah), and the hoary-bellied squirrel (Callosciurus pygerythrus), both restricted to the hills of Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Assam. Three species of giant squirrels live on the subcontinent: the Indian or Malabar giant squirrel (Ratufa indica, fi g. 339) of peninsular India south of the Ganges, the grizzled giant squirrel (Ratufa macroura) of the hill ranges of South India and Sri Lanka, and the Malayan giant squirrel (Ratufa bicolor) of the hill ranges of Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Assam. Giant squirrels are elegant and beautifully coloured animals, but are shy and live in the summits of the higher trees. Their large, globular nests in the branches are easier discovered than the animals themselves. The most amazing squirrels are without doubt the large fl ying squir- rels of the genera Eupetaurus, Petaurista, Petinomys, Hylopetes, and Belomys. They do not truly fl y, but merely glide or sail through the air with the help of a membrane which connects front and hind limbs (fi g. 340). They are nocturnal, in contrast to the other squirrels, and thus hardly ever seen. 21.1.3 Role of Squirrels in Society The fi ve-striped palm squirrel can be considered a commensal with humans. It lives in settlements and feeds on household waste and whatever suitable food it can fi nd. The fi ve-striped squirrel is easily tamed, but is not domesticated in the true sense, because its breeding is uncontrolled by humans. The three-striped squirrel lives in the forest and is not associated with humans. Squirrels seem to play no role in religion or traditional lore. Their only direct contribution is as small game animal for hill tribes, especially so the giant squirrels. 21.2 Squirrels in Stone One of the earliest and at the same time most appealing stone sculpture of the fi ve-striped palm squirrel decorates a railing pillar from Bharhut, Madhya Pradesh (c. 100 B.C.E.; fi g. 341). The squirrels climb a fl oral .