Ratufa indica (Erxleben, 1777)
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6840226 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6818626 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/064D0660-FFC9-ED34-FF69-FD83F8DFF5D4 |
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treatment provided by |
Diego |
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scientific name |
Ratufa indica |
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Indian Giant Squirrel
French: Ecureuil indien / German: Indisches Riesenhdrnchen / Spanish: Ardilla gigante de India
Other common names: Malabar Giant Squirrel
Taxonomy. Sciurus indicus Erxleben, 1777 ,
“in India orientali,”
(Bombay, India).
Four subspecies are recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
R.i.indicaErxleben,1777—WGhats,SofMumbai,WIndia.
R.i.centralisRyley,1913—EGhatsandChighlandsofC&EIndiaincludingAndhraPradeshState.
R.i.dealbataBlanford,1897—Dangsregion,NofMumbai,WIndia.
R. i. maxima Schreber, 1784 — extreme SW India.
Descriptive notes. Head—body 340-450 mm, tail 380-490 mm; weight 0.9-2.3 kg. The Indian Giant Squirrel has a long, broad, haired tail and conspicuous ear tufts that are often as long as 20 mm. Dorsum varies from light rust to maroon to black; sides of head are cream to pale brown with a thin, dark vertical stripe along posterior cheek; nape and crown are separated by a light band. Venter is cream to beige. Subspecies indica is maroon on head, body, sides, and tail, with a pale tail-tip. Subspecies maxima is similarly colored but has black over shoulders, rump, and tail. Subspecies centralis has black on forelimbs and shoulders in addition to tail; most conspicuous are the red ear tufts, dorsum, sides, and hindlegs. Subspecies dealbata is a very pale form, sometimes described as albinistic, with a white tail. Hybridization between the subspecies maxima and the Sri Lankan Giant Squirrel subspecies (R. macroura dandolena) was reported in the south-eastern Indian state of Tamil Nadu but does not appear widespread.
Habitat. Evergreen and semi-evergreen broadleaf forests of peninsular India. The Indian Giant Squirrel primarily frequents montane forests but does occur in some lowland coastal forests. Connectivity of forest canopy appears to be a key determinant of this large arboreal squirrel’s presence.
Food and Feeding. The Indian Giant Squirrel is a facultative frugivore capable of general herbivory if necessary. This flexibility in food habits enables exploitation of widely scattered trees in a diverse forest often with seasonal production and availability of food items. Trees provide most of food resources but tissues of a variety of shrubs, lianas, and herbs may also be consumed. A diversity of tree seeds are the principal foods but fleshy fruits, leaves, buds, flowers, nectar, inner bark, and sap are also taken. In years of seed and fruit shortage, mature leaves constituted up to 62% of its diet. They do not cache food on the ground; however, seeds are stored in a larderhoard within their nests. Foraging is conducted almost exclusively in the canopy as the Indian Giant Squirrel rarely descends to ground to feed on seeds or fallen ripe fruits. Heavy feeding on flowers has been suggested to decrease seed and fruit crops.
Breeding. Breeding in the Indian Giant Squirrel follows a mating chase similar to that reported for other tree squirrels, and occurs within the home range of the estrous female. Two or more males aggressively pursue the female and fight for access to her. The dominant male will mate with the female for about two hours and then subordinate individuals have the opportunity to mate. Gestation lasts 21-25 days and a single young is born. Females nurse young for 5-6 months and young begin to disperse at ¢.8-10 months of age. Males and females do not appear to breed until two years of age; individuals can live for c.16 years. Predation attempts and successes have been documented for Lion-tailed Macaques (Macaca silenus), Leopards (Panthera pardus), martens (Mantes), forest eagle-owls (Bubo nipalensis), Indian black eagles (Ictinaetus malayensis), crested serpent-eagles (Spilornis cheela), and changeable hawk-eagle (Spizaetus cirrhatus).
Activity patterns. The Indian Giant Squirrel is diurnal and lives most often above 20 m in the canopy, where it constructs a bolus drey of twigs and small branches in a tree crown. Several such nests are built within the individual’s territory. Dreys are constructed with long twigs and lined with shredded leaves and placed most often in branch forks within upper canopy. Squirrels use nests primarily at night and exit their nests at dawn and return at dusk. A bimodal pattern of activity with mid-morning and late afternoon peaks and a midday lull appears mediated by temperature and perhaps gut capacity. Feeding is the most common single activity and accounts for 40-60% of time budgets with 20-30% of the day allocated to resting, principally during the midday lull.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Densities of the Indian Giant Squirrel in hunted areas were 5-5-8-1 ind/km?, significantly below that in moist deciduous (32-125 ind/km?) and high elevation (76-100 ind/km?) forests. Seasonal shifts of home range have been reported in association with monsoon rains. Adults are solitary and possess a core area of exclusive use; however, peripheral portions of the home range are overlapped by conspecifics. Home ranges vary 0-7-2-5 ha with little intrasexual overlap. Individuals make loud staccato territorial calls that last for several
minutes and change to high pitched clicks in the morning when leaving the nest, and use a series of clicks as they move from tree to tree. Territories are marked by urination and cheek rubbing.
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Least Concern on The [UCN Red List. The Indian Giant Squirrelis widely distributed, has a presumed large population size, and is moderately common to locally common in areas where it occurs. However,it is declining due to habitat loss and hunting for local consumption. Subspecies dealbata may be extinct in the wild.
Bibliography. Borges (1990, 1992, 1993, 1998, 2006), Borges et al. (2006), Datta & Goyal (1996), Johnsingh & Manjrekar (2015), Jordan et al. (2005j), Joshua (1996), Moore & Tate (1965), Rajamani et al. (2010), Somanathan et al. (2007), Thorington et al. (2012).
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