Indian giant squirrel

The Indian giant squirrel Commonly known as 'Shekhru'. It inhabits the deciduous or mixed forests, and is abundant in the forests of the Western Ghats of Maharashtra.

The size of their body comes to almost 3ft. with only the tail measuring up to 2ft. in length. The long bushy tail helps in balancing their body on the trees. They are deep brown in colour with buff-coloured underparts. Giant squirrels live only in forests. They keep to the branches of higher trees and rarely come to the ground. They move from tree to tree taking amazing leaps with limbs outspread, covering as much as 20 ft. in a single leap. They are active agile animals, mostly active during the early mornings and evenings. They are shy and wary, not easy to discover. Despite its brilliant colouring, the Indian Giant Squirrel is sooner heard than seen.

The Indian Giant Squirrel usually lives alone or in pairs. These animals build large globular nests of twigs and leaves, placing them for greater security among the slimmer twigs and branches of trees, where heavier predators cannot reach them .

The Indian Giant Squirrel has been classified as least concern by IUCN. They became least due to the threats of hunting. Hunting for food, for medicine. And loss of habitat, loss of habitat because of fragmentation, trade, trade for parts

Forest Department officials have teamed up with Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to chalk out a conservation plan for the endangered giant squirrel

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