Guzzling Grizzled giant squirrel

Rivers distribute a vibe that is so dazzling. That which instantly relaxes your mind. Whether you choose to be near the one that runs through urban lands or the one that snakes through the forests. One such river is Kaveri which flows through Kaveri Wildlife sanctuary. This sanctuary consists of dry deciduous, sub-tropical thorn and riverine forests. Spread across an area approximately 510 sq. kms, it is a home to a few tigers, many leopards, elephants, chitals, muggers, native mahseer and few othersinclude the near threatened “Grizzled Giant Squirrel”.

Over here, when you either choose to kayak or simply walk along the edge of the river, you are bound to have quite an enchanting experience with constant sounds of our avian friends and if one is lucky they may witness smooth-coated otters playing with each other on the rocks or on the banks. My visit to the sanctuary was in a hope to capture and document few behaviours of these Grizzled Giant Squirrels (Ratufa macroura). I know these chipmunks do forage on tamarind seeds a lot so I initially scouted for them near a tamarind tree and I did find one which was silently consuming leaves, but lost it within a blink of a second. They are arboreal so my eyes were constantly surveying branches that are at the top. Moments later, I could see a fur shaking on a tree. The brownish grey fur hugging the branch eyes wide open and a smile perhaps. Oh yes of course, it’s very hard to miss those razor sharpclaws resting on the branch.

Assuming that it was sleeping, I was quite careful not to step on the dry leaves just to avoid the crunchy echo which might disturb their sleep. Unfortunately, I could not escape from stepping on them but to my luck the squirrel did not move from there. On gazing it closely, I notice that it is larger than the Indian palm squirrel and a bit smaller than Malabar giant squirrel. They are in fact the smallest of giant squirrels found in India. They are a habitat specialist and are arboreal.

Grizzle giant squirrel resting on the branch after a heavy meal.

Scanning for fruits. It made a giant leap to another tree.

I had settled at a placed where I can get a decent view of the squirrel that I want to photograph. Meanwhile, the squirrel got up and as if it is in a hurry it immediately started its routine activity, foraging on fruits. They mainly feed on fruits and seeds of Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) and on the Java Plum (Eugenia jambolana). They are active seed dispersals and as a result, they are also responsible in improving the bio diversity of the fragmented forests of Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, which unfortunately is succumbing to the ever expanding urban development.

The giant squirrel was inspecting the fruits carefully and consuming one after another.

I then started to observe the squirrel’s patterns, first it picks up the fruit and if they are young, it eats immediately holding with both hands. It also sometimes holds the fruit for a while, perhaps checking for the smell and confirming if it’s a ripe one. And when fruits are done on a specific branch, it was then hopping over to another one. It did go to the extreme end of the branch and also to the highest point of the tree to examine the last remaining fruit.

And when all fruits are completed on that tree and if there are none very nearby, then it started feeding on the young leaves - either by plucking them or consuming while the leaves are still attached to the stem. I wonder how they manage to hold the balance on a tiny stem and especially when they goto the extreme end. Once eating the desired leaves are completed, it moved on to another branch either by strolling on the same branch or jumping to another tree altogether. The distances they jump and with such an extra ordinary pace, I could not help but drop my jaw in awe and admiring its agility.

Giant squirrel was delicately balancing and scanning the top portions of the branch for ripe fruits.

I had spent good amount of time with few squirrels in my three days trip. I had noticed them doing two things majorly - foraging and sleeping. When I saw them on branches without any movement, I initially thought they were sleeping and to me it looks like they sleep with their eyes open - an art that I should have mastered in my school days. They are quite active during early morning and in the evening and rest during mid day. There were few domestic cats and Bonnet macaques at near by branches but there was no interaction between them and squirrels.

Here the squirrel is eating on the fresh leaves - which is what they prefer.

Through out my time, I saw squirrels doing its activities in solitary. I saw few nests at various places and science tells that during breeding, they build a large nest with twigs and leaves where the young ones remain for 2-3 months. Each litter contains one or two young ones.

Nest of a Grizzle giant squirrel - made with twigs and dry leaves.

Despite all its cuteness and the important role they play in improving the biodiversity, there are numerous threats to them. As I had noticed they love to stay on top of the trees and display splendid acrobatic skills while jumping from one tree to another, but their forests are not continuous. There are many gaps in the canopy continuity. It is unfortunate that they are hunted for its fur by the forest-dwelling people. They are also vulnerable to predation especially by the Black Eagle, Brahminy Kite, Crested Serpent Eagle and other areal predators.

These are some of the factors which are a major threat to its long term survival. In fact, of these can be controlled by us - humans.

This story was also published in the October, 2022 issue of Saevus magazine.