Ratufa indica 27Sex not stated—HB 366.8 mm (n = 44); T 456.7 mm (n = 11);
Mass 1442.0 g (n = 33).
distribution: This species occurs through central and
southern India, excluding the central lowlands.
geographic variation: Four subspecies are recognized.
R. i. indica—Western Ghats, south of Mumbai (India). It is
maroon on the head, body, sides, and tail, with a pale tail
tip.
R. i. centralis—eastern and central India. It has red ear tufts;
red on the back, sides, and hind legs; and black on the
forelimbs, shoulders, and tail.
R. i. dealbata—Dangs region, north of Mumbai (India). It is a
very pale form, with a white tail.
R. i. maxima—southwestern tip of India. This subspecies is
similar to R. i. indica, except that it is black across the
shoulders and on the rump and tail.
conservation: IUCN status—near threatened. Population
trend—decreasing. Ratufa indica dealbata may be extinct.
habitat: This species prefers the evergreen and semi-ever-
green broadleaf forests of peninsular India.
natural history: The Indian giant tree squirrel is soli-
tary, territorial, and a facultative frugivore. When fruit is
rare, it feeds on leaves, fl owers, seeds, and bark. At one site
(Magod), its intake of mature leaves ranged from 0 percent
of the diet when fruit was readily available to 62.9 percent
when fruit was scarce. At Bhimashankar, mature leaves con-
stituted 4.5 to 18.8 percent of their diet. In a low-diversity
seasonal cloud forest in the Western Ghats (India), these
squirrels collected hard nuts of six species of trees and one
species of vine, which they stored in a larder-hoard within
their nests. At the Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary in Ker-
ala, the squirrels are principally seed feeders, consuming
the seeds of 10 diff erent species of trees. The Indian giant
tree squirrel builds nests made of twigs and leaves high in
the canopy; in semi-deciduous woodlands it may choose
vine-covered trees in riparian locations. Population densi-
ties are estimated to vary from 2.4 individuals/km^2 at Bandi-
pur to 12.3 individuals/km^2 at Lakkavalli, although local
densities at Magod appear to have been much higher, with
11 animals in an area of 25 ha and territory sizes of 1.2 ha forRatufa indica. Photo courtesy Sudhir Shivaram.