The Hindu : Front Page : Shy squirrel makes a rare appearance

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Saturday, Jul 28, 2007
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Shy squirrel makes a rare appearance

Ravi Sharma

Bangalore: In the central stretch of the Western Ghats, a group of officials and a researcher have photographed in the wild a nesting Small Travancore Flying Squirrel, an endangered species. Conservationists are excited and cheered by the sighting.

The 30-cm-long mammal, endemic to the Western Ghats, was found in the evergreen tree canopy in the Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary on June 30. The officials were from the Karnataka Forest Department posted at the Kollur Wildlife Range, while the researcher was from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore.

The shy, reclusive, nocturnal and arboreal Small Travancore Flying Squirrel (Petiinomys fuscocapillus), placed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, has not been generally known to inhabit the central and nort hern fringes of the Western Ghats. It is better known as an inhabitant of the western slopes of the Western Ghats spanning Kerala and Tamil Nadu, from the Thattaikadu Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala in the south to just below the Brahmagiri Ranges, but not north of the area.

Though it was not the first such sighting, the fact that the endangered mammal’s nest was also seen is a particular rarity.

Vijay Ranjan Singh, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Karkala Division, said: “It was a great surprise to us. The fact that this mammal was found in a large and fully protected area shows that conservation initiatives have paid off.” He suggested an intensive survey north of where the sightings were made.

With cream-white on the underside, the colour extending to the cheeks, and an off-white haired and fringed wing membrane, a fully grown Small Travancore Flying Squirrel is a foot to a foot-and-a-half long. Its flat tail is almost as long as the body. These squirrels, like the more easily visible flying squirrel, do not fly, but glide.

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