Top 5 Largest Squirrels Found in India
There are hundreds of arboreal squirrel species found in the world, some of the giants are only found in India. Here is the list of giants species of squirrel found in the dense forest of India from Himalayas to Assam, Western Ghats to Eastern Ghats.
Species of squirrels found in India also include Indian Palm Squirrel, Woolly Flying Squirrel, Red Giant Flying Squirrel and Orange Bellied Himalayan Squirrel.
Indian Giant Squirrel (Ratufa indica)
Indian giant squirrel is the state animal of Maharashtra and the largest species of squirrels found in India. The large tree squirrel species is native to India but the sub species of the Ratufa indica also found in South Asia.
The Malabar giant squirrel also found in the forest of Central India, on Tirumala hills at Tirupati,alongside the Kabini river and in Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary of Maharashtra, established to protect the habitat of the Indian Giant Squirrel.
Black Giant Squirrel (Ratufa bicolor)
The black giant squirrel or Malayan giant squirrel is mostly found in the Kaziranga National Park of Assam and other northeast Indian states. The Malayan giant squirrel with brown to black in color are one of the largest squirrels found in North east India along with few more giant flying squirrels like Red and white giant flying squirrel and Bhutan giant flying squirrel.
Grizzled Giant Squirrel (Ratufa macroura)
Grizzled giant squirrel mostly found along the Kaveri river in the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It is one of the giant squirrels found in the Indian subcontinent and Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary established for grizzled giant squirrel in Tamil Nadu.
Namdapha Flying Squirrel (Biswamoyopterus biswasi)
Namdapha flying squirrel is the nocturnal species of flying squirrel, endemic to Namdapha National Park in Arunachal Pradesh. This species is listed as critically endangered due to habitat destruction and now only found in the forest of Indian rose chestnut in Namdapha National Park and Patkai range of in North eastern India.
Indian Giant Flying Squirrel (Petaurista philippensis)
Indian giant flying squirrel is a large brown color flying squirrel, found mostly in South Asia and India. This is a large tree squirrel species, nocturnal and arboreal.
Red giant flying squirrel, Spotted giant flying squirrel, Bhutan giant Flying squirrel along with Indian giant flying squirrel are known species of giant flying squirrels found in the Indian subcontinent.
****Species of Tree and Flying Squirrel Found in India****
There are more species of arboreal tree squirrel, ground and flying squirrel found in India. Squirrels are members of the Sciuridae family that also includes rodents – The biggest rodent found in India is Himalayan Marmot.
Indian Palm Squirrel
Indian palm squirrels are the most common species of squirrels found in India, There are different species of palm squirrels like three-striped palm squirrel, five -striped palm squirrel,Jungle palm squirrel and Himalayan striped squirrel.
– Himalayan Marmot, Ladakh
Himalayan Marmot is also a member of Sciuridae family, that inhabits alpine grasslands of the Himalayas in India. The Himalayan marmot and golden marmot species are occurs at altitudes of 9,800–18,000 ft from the Himalayas to Tibetan Plateau, lives in colonies in Ladakh.
