GRIZZLED GIANT SQUIRREL

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Topics Covered: Grizzled giant squirrel

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News Flash

For the first time, researchers have sighted nests of the grizzled giant squirrel, an endangered species listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 at Pakkamalai Reserve Forests near Gingee in the Eastern Ghats.

 

Grizzled giant squirrel

• The species is usually known to nest only in Western Ghats in Southern India ranging from Chinnar Wildlife sanctuary in Kerala to Anamalai Tiger Reserve and Palani hills in Tamil Nadu.
• Owing to habitat loss and poaching, the species has been categorised as near threatened by the Red List and listed under Schedule II of CITES.
• The animal, got its common name from the white flecks of hair over its greyish body.
• The grizzled giant squirrel (Ratufa macroura) is a large tree squirrel in the genus Ratufa.
• The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the species as near threatened due to habitat loss and hunting.
• It is found in the highlands of the Central and Uva provinces of Sri Lanka, and in patches of riparian forest along the Kaveri River and in the hill forests of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala states of southern India.

 

Pakkamalai Reserve Forest

Pakkamalai Reserve Forest is a sacred mountain located about 45 kms from Gingee in Villupuram district. The Gingee forest is neither Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest nor Dry Deciduous but are of mixed nature.

Several diverse and endangered species including the Golden Gecko, Bamboo Pit Viper and Mouse Deer have also been spotted in the Pakkamalai Reserve Forests.

 

Source: The Hindu

 

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