Indian Giant Squirrel Profile
Squirrels today all descended from a 40-million-year ancestor that resembled a modern-day flying squirrel emerging from what is now North America.
From there, they expanded across the landmass, branching into the roughly 60 genera and almost 300 species found worldwide.
Some moved to the ground to become large burrowing animals such as the marmots, while others stayed in the trees perfecting their arboreal acrobatics.
The Asian giant squirrels are some of the largest tree squirrels, and among these, the Indian giant squirrel might be the heaviest.
Indian Giant Squirrel Facts Overview
| Habitat: | Arboreal, upper canopy, evergreen, semievergreen and moist deciduous forests |
| Location: | Peninsular India |
| Lifespan: | 20 years in captivity. |
| Size: | Head/body 50 cm (20 in) long, with a tail around the same length. |
| Weight: | Up to 2kg (4.4 lb) |
| Colour: | Reddish brown with lighter tan or creamy tail tip, arms and face, white belly. |
| Diet: | Fruit, flowers, nuts, bark, eggs, insects |
| Predators: | Raptors, leopards, civets, cats, snakes |
| Top Speed: | Not listed |
| No. of Species: | 1 |
| Conservation Status: | Least Concern (IUCN) |
Indian giant squirrels are some of the heaviest arboreal rodents after the porcupines. They’re large and brightly coloured, yet despite being named by science in 1777, they are an elusive species with little in the literature about them.
Four subspecies are dotted about the subcontinent, known for their impressive leaps and unique food storage strategies.
Sadly, the forests they rely on are in decline, but as yet, this doesn’t appear to have threatened the species as a whole.
Interesting Indian Giant Squirrel Facts
1. They’re big
To put into perspective just how bulky Asian giant squirrels are animals are, Grey squirrels are pretty large for a tree squirrel, and they’re usually no more than about 600g in weight.
These chunky bois spend a lot of time on the ground, getting fat, and are less arboreal than their smaller cousins. So, it’s particularly impressive that the Indian giant squirrel will rarely, if ever touch the ground, despite weighing an incredible 2kg.
Usually, a squirrel as rotund as this would have a hard time staying in the trees and would be better off joining the ground squirrels, but no such pressure for the outstanding Indian giant squirrel, he is quite at home in the canopy.
2. There are up to four subspecies
This species has separated into at least four recognised subspecies, and some populations are genetically isolated from the others.
In general, they are split between the Western Ghats subspecies, R. i. indica, the Central and Eastern Indian group, R. i. centralis, The Gujarat population that overlaps with R. i. indica but may actually be extinct, and R. i. maxima, which is a bit of a controversial subspecies altogether.
These proposed subspecies are therefore dotted across the enormous country of India and are mostly differentiated by the difference in their colour patterns. The species as a whole is of Least Concern on the IUCN red list, but subspecies may be more vulnerable. 1
3. They’re mostly solitary
Being large and unusual squirrels, they take up a fair bit of room in the forest, and this is compounded by the fact that they don’t like to hang out in close-knit groups.
Indian giant squirrels are surprisingly hard to spot on account of their avoidance behaviour and will prefer to remain well hidden and solitary until it comes to mating time.
Their shyness comes with an undercurrent of humility, though, and they don’t take more space than they need; these animals occupy small home ranges and prefer to store food there rather than venture farther afield. 2
4. They use tree larders
Like their smaller cousins, these huge squirrels store food. But while most species will store it in the ground, Indian giant squirrels find larders up in the canopy.
This is pretty rare for any animal to do and was first described in this species. Researchers witnessed this species sorting seeds from six plant species in larders up in an Indian cloud forest during the fruiting season.
Some were consumed fresh, others were left, possibly to ferment a little, though storing behaviour was limited in areas where there was competition around. 3
5. They eat pretty much anything
This method of food storage opens up a wide variety of food options given a small home range. It means that food can be secured when it’s ready, not only when it’s time for the animal to eat.
While the majority of this species’ food comes from nuts and seeds, it’s not a picky animal when it comes to eating. Fruits, flowers, nectar, eggs and insects are all on the menu and can be plucked from the branches using the large and heavy tail as a counterweight. 4
6. They get a lot of water from their diet
The preferred food for this species appears to relate to its water content. One study suggests that the water in an item was a strong predictor of whether the squirrel would eat it, meaning that this animal can get the majority of its hydration from the food that it eats.
This means fewer trips to the ground in search of water and more time spent in the canopy. 5
7. They can really jump
As this species spends most of its time in the trees, it has become adept at traversing branches, even more so than other arboreal squirrel species.
This rodent has an impressive leap, more commonly found in primates, and has been spotted crossing six metres in a single jump.
8. They don’t like eagles
Arboreal species are usually exploiting an environment where many predators won’t be able to grab them, but there are still some dangers up there.
Crested hawks appear to be the sworn enemies of Indian giant squirrels and will get mobbed if they dare to show their beaks among the squirrel population. On the other hand, if they’re not spotted first, the hawks will catch and eat the squirrels, so it seems a fair response.
Indian Giant Squirrel Fact-File Summary
Scientific Classification
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Sciuridae |
| Genus: | Ratufa |
| Species: | R.indica |
Fact Sources & References
- Sneha Mahale (2022), “How preserving forests could save the Indian giant squirrel”, Mongabay.
- Honnavalli N. Kumara (2006), “Distribution and relative abundance of giant squirrels and flying squirrels in Karnataka, India”, Research Gate.
- (2006), “Arboreal larder-hoarding in the tropical Indian giant squirrel Ratufa indica”, Taylor & Francis.
- Hema Somanathan (2006), “Arboreal larder-hoarding in the tropical Indian giant squirrel Ratufa indica”, Taylor & Francis.
- Renee M. Borges (1991), “A nutritional analysis of foraging in the Malabar giant squirrel (Ratufa indica)”, Oxford Academic.