---
title: "What the sources say about the Malabar Giant Squirrel | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "69 claims from the Malabar Giant Squirrel profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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---

# What the sources say about the Malabar Giant Squirrel (*Ratufa indica*)

> 69 claims from the Malabar Giant Squirrel profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Malabar Giant Squirrel](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/malabar-giant-squirrel/)

## Ratufa indica (Indian giant squirrel). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Ratufa_indica/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A giant squirrel of peninsular India | The distribution of Ratufa indica is restricted to peninsular India. |
| can leap six meters or more between trees | Moving from tree to tree, R. indica can leap 6 meters or more. |
| rarely leaves them | Giant squirrels rarely leave the trees, usually only to chase other squirrels during the breeding season. |
| Forests of peninsular India | The distribution of Ratufa indica is restricted to peninsular India. |
| Fruit, seeds, flowers, nuts, leaves, bark, insects and bird eggs | Giant squirrels are omnivorous, feeding on fruits, flowers, nuts, bark, bird eggs, and insects. |
| Fruit, seeds, flowers, nuts, leaves, bark, insects and bird eggs | seeds, grains, and nuts (note: ADW's Plant Foods list) |
| Leaps of six meters or more between trees | Moving from tree to tree, R. indica can leap 6 meters or more. |
| eagle-sized nests of leaves and twigs | Ratufa indica build eagle-sized nests in the branches of trees |
| restricted to peninsular India | The distribution of Ratufa indica is restricted to peninsular India. |
| Body length runs 254 to 457 millimeters, with a tail about as long again | Total body length varies from 254 to 457 mm and tail length is approximately the same as body length. |
| adults weigh roughly 1.5 to 2 kilograms | These squirrels weigh approximately 1.5 to 2 kg (Nowak 1999). |
| up to 3 | Range mass 3 (high) kg |
| Its back ranges from deep red to brown | Ratufa indica has dorsal coloration that varies from deep red to brown |
| Six-Meter Leaps | Moving from tree to tree, R. indica can leap 6 meters or more. |
| This squirrel rarely leaves the trees | Giant squirrels rarely leave the trees, usually only to chase other squirrels during the breeding season. |
| usually coming down only to chase other squirrels during the breeding season | Giant squirrels rarely leave the trees, usually only to chase other squirrels during the breeding season. |
| It can leap six meters or more from one tree to the next | Moving from tree to tree, R. indica can leap 6 meters or more. |
| It feeds standing on its hind legs and handling food with its front paws | They feed by standing on the hind legs and using their hands to handle food. |
| its large tail working as a counterweight for balance | Giant squirrels also uses their large tail as a counter-weight, improving their balance. |
| It typically lives alone | Giant squirrels are typically solitary animals, being seen only rarely in pairs during the breeding season. |
| keeps a small home range | Giant squirrels have small home ranges (G. Umapathy, 2000). |
| is most active during the day | They are most active during the day (Nowak, 1999). |
| Eagle-Sized Nests in Exotic Trees | Ratufa indica build eagle-sized nests in the branches of trees |
| which Animal Diversity Web describes as eagle-sized | Ratufa indica build eagle-sized nests in the branches of trees |
| Its omnivorous diet | Giant squirrels are omnivorous, feeding on fruits, flowers, nuts, bark, bird eggs, and insects. |
| fruit, seeds, flowers, leaves and bark are on its menu | Giant squirrels are omnivorous, feeding on fruits, flowers, nuts, bark, bird eggs, and insects. |
| fruit, seeds, flowers, leaves and bark are on its menu | seeds, grains, and nuts (note: ADW's Plant Foods list) |
| along with insects and bird eggs | Giant squirrels are omnivorous, feeding on fruits, flowers, nuts, bark, bird eggs, and insects. |
| it disperses the seeds of the plants it eats when it defecates | Ratufa indica disperses the seeds of the plants that they consume as they defecate (Borges 1992). |
| Its likely predators include cats, civets, raptors and snakes | It is likely that they are preyed upon by many medium and large-sized predators, such as cats, civet cats, raptors, and snakes. |
| it escapes them mainly by retreating into the trees, relying on agility and wariness | Giant squirrels escape predation primarily by seeking refuge in the trees and through their agility and wariness. |
| Six meters or more. That is the leap Animal Diversity Web records for it when it moves between trees. | Moving from tree to tree, R. indica can leap 6 meters or more. |
| It is an omnivore, eating fruit, flowers, nuts, bark, insects and bird eggs. | Giant squirrels are omnivorous, feeding on fruits, flowers, nuts, bark, bird eggs, and insects. |
| It can leap six meters or more between trees | can leap 6 meters or more (note: vibe.reason, re-paired in the wave 116 final pass (geography pairing: Indian fusion on an Indian animal)) |
| it feeds standing on its hind legs | They feed by standing on the hind legs and using their hands to handle food. (note: vibe.reason, wave 116 re-pair) |
| with its large tail as a counterweight | Giant squirrels also uses their large tail as a counter-weight, improving their balance. (note: vibe.reason, wave 116 re-pair) |
| tags: omnivore | Giant squirrels are omnivorous, feeding on fruits, flowers, nuts, bark, bird eggs, and insects. (note: settle #880: replaces herbivore) |

## Ratufa indica. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Ratufa_indica

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| adults weigh roughly 1.5 to 2 kilograms | Adult weight 2,000 g (note: AnAge (current build) gives adult weight as 2,000 g, i.e. 2 kg, the top of ADW's older 1.5-2 kg average) |
| The oldest on record, a captive squirrel, lived to 20 | Maximum longevity 20 years (captivity) (note: current source; the record is a captive animal) |
| weightKg: 2 | Adult weight 2,000 g (note: battleStats (settle #880); ADW gives approximately 1.5 to 2 kg) |

## Molur (2016). Ratufa indica. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T19378A22262028.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2016-2.rlts.t19378a22262028.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| though it is listed as Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). |
| Its 2016 IUCN Red List assessment lists Ratufa indica as Least Concern. | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). |

## Borges (1992). A nutritional analysis of foraging in the Malabar giant squirrel (Ratufa indica). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8312.1992.tb00652.x

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Fruit, seeds, flowers, nuts, leaves, bark, insects and bird eggs | mature leaves and bark on a regular daily basis (note: leaves and bark as regular daily items) |
| Big bodies buy flexibility. | Large body size in this squirrel permits dietary flexibility and enables an overall generalist feeding strategy. |
| Large body size permits dietary flexibility in this squirrel and an overall generalist feeding strategy, a 1992 study of its foraging concluded. | Large body size in this squirrel permits dietary flexibility and enables an overall generalist feeding strategy. |
| fruit, seeds, flowers, leaves and bark are on its menu | mature leaves and bark on a regular daily basis (note: leaves and bark as regular daily items) |

## S et al. (2023). Nesting behaviour of Indian Giant Squirrel (Ratufa indica) in the exotic timber plantations of the Palani Hills, Western Ghats, India. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.

https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2447130/v1

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| eagle-sized nests of leaves and twigs | IGS builds large globular nests of leaves and twigs, with a discreet opening either on the side or the top. |
| Eagle-Sized Nests in Exotic Trees | with 73% of the nests found on exotic Eucalyptus trees |
| It builds large globular nests of leaves and twigs | IGS builds large globular nests of leaves and twigs, with a discreet opening either on the side or the top. |
| In the Palani Hills, a survey of exotic timber plantations found 70 nests | An extensive survey of timber plantations revealed a total of 70 nests |
| 73% of them in eucalyptus | with 73% of the nests found on exotic Eucalyptus trees |
| The nests sat 8 to 50 meters up | the nest heights (range 8m to 50m) |
| in trees averaging 34.8 meters tall | IGS built nests on tall trees (34.8m (note: full figure in source: 34.8m ± 1.8, n = 70) |
| nest sites were significantly closer to rainforest patches | nest sites were significantly closer to rainforest patches |

## G, Thampy & Moti (2023). Putative hybrids between Indian giant squirrels (Ratufa indica) and grizzled giant squirrels (Ratufa macroura): a case study from the Western Ghats, India. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.

https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3379925/v1

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| including evergreen, semi-evergreen and deciduous forest and nearby plantations in the Western Ghats | the IGS occupying the evergreen, semi-evergreen, and deciduous forests and adjacent plantations, and the GGS restricted to the drier rain shadow regions |
| The maxima subspecies, recorded in the Western Ghats of Kerala | R. indica indica Erxleben, 1777 and R. indica maxima Schreber, 1784, have been recorded from the Western Ghats of Kerala |
| wears a bay or maroon coat with a black saddle across the shoulders, cream or buff underparts | R. i. maxima ... is a brightly coloured large subspecies of the IGS characterized by a bay or maroon-coloured upper body with a black saddle across the shoulders, a black rump, an entirely black tail without a pale tip, cream or buff underparts and toes |
| ear tufts that are generally bay or maroon too | well-developed tufts of hair on the ears, which are generally bay or maroon coloured |
| Kits have been observed to stay in the nursery nest for two to three months after birth before they emerge | IGS and GGS kits have been observed to remain in the nursery drey for two to three months after birth before emerging |
| Hybrids with the grizzled giant squirrel have been reported from a few places in South India | Interspecific hybridization between IGS (R. indica maxima) and GGS (R. macroura dandolena) has been reported from a few places in South India |
| where the two species meet | they occur in forced sympatry in a few places |
| At Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala, researchers recorded eleven suspected hybrids | A total of eleven putative hybrids could be recorded from the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala. |
| eleven suspected hybrids | which are suspected to be hybrids of Indian giant squirrels and grizzled giant squirrels |
| with features intermediate between the two species | The morphological characters of the putative hybrids (Fig. 1 a-i) appeared to be intermediate between IGS and GGS |
| including a female that mated with a male grizzled giant squirrel | a female putative hybrid (Fig. 1 a) was observed to be mounted by a male grizzled giant squirrel |
| later had two young | the presence of two juveniles could be confirmed after two to three months, when they emerged |

## Pradhan, Shrotriya, Rout & Dash (2017). Nesting and feeding habits of Indian giant squirrel (Ratufa indica) in Karlapat wildlife sanctuary, India. Animal Biodiversity and Conservation.

https://doi.org/10.32800/abc.2017.40.0063

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| One of Four Giant Squirrels | The Indian giant squirrel (Ratufa indica) is one of four species of giant squirrels in the world. |
| one of four species of giant squirrels in the world | The Indian giant squirrel (Ratufa indica) is one of four species of giant squirrels in the world. |
| Its populations are severely fragmented | It is endemic to India and its populations are severely fragmented. (note: 2017 source, current for the state it describes) |