Paraxerus palliatus 243conservation: IUCN status—least concern. Population
trend—no information.
habitat: The red bush squirrel is found in a wide range of
habitats, including dry and moist evergreen forests, wood-
lands, dune forests, riverine forests, and thickets. It lives
primarily along the coast or by rivers, but it is also found on
islands and in mountainous regions, at elevations as high as
2000 m.
natural history: The red bush squirrel is diurnal and
arboreal. It is fairly abundant through its range. but this spe-
cies is diffi cult to observe in the wild, due to its shy nature.
Individuals spend much of their time foraging on the
ground, consuming seeds, fl eshy fruits, nuts, and inverte-
brates. They scratch underneath tree bark to fi nd insects,
and they have been observed stalking prey and displaying
other hunting behaviors in captivity. Individuals hoard
small amounts of large seeds. These squirrels most com-
monly live alone or in pairs, but they also nest in groups of
two to four individuals. Nests are built in the holes of bao-
babs (Adansonia) and Kigelia trees. Home ranges vary in size
by habitat. In evergreen moist forests, P. p. palliatus main-
tains a mean range of 3.18 ha for males and 2.19 ha for fe-
males; whereas in coastal forests and thickets, the mean
home range size is 4.17 ha for males and 0.73 ha for females.
A female may give birth to one to two litters of one to two
young each year. In southern Africa gestation lasts 60–65
days, and the young are born during the wet season, from
August to March. The female separates from other squirrels
before giving birth and builds a new nest, lined with leaves,Paraxerus palliatus. Photo courtesy Lee. E. Harding.
Paraxerus palliatus. Photo courtesy Frédéric Salein, France,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fredericsalein/.