The Indian giant squirrel or Malabar giant squirrel (Ratufa indica) is a large multi-coloured tree squirrel species endemic to forests and woodlands in India. It is a diurnal, arboreal, and mainly herbivorous squirrel.
This species is endemic to India, with main sections of its distribution in the Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats and Satpura Range as far north as Madhya Pradesh (approximately 22° N). It is found at altitudes of 180–2,300 m (590–7,550 ft) in tropical deciduous, semi-deciduous (where often utilizing denser riparian growth), and moist evergreen forests and woodlands.[1][4][5] In general, its distribution is fragmented because it is intolerant of habitat degradation. The Indian giant squirrel generally nests in taller trees with a mean height of 11 m (36 ft) (±3 m (10 ft) SD) in order to avoid predators.
It has a conspicuous one-, two-, or three-toned colour scheme. The colours involved can be whitish, creamy-beige, buff, tan, rust, reddish-maroon, brown, dark seal brown, or black. The underparts and the front legs are usually cream coloured, and the head can be brown or beige, and there is a distinctive white spot between the ears. Otherwise the colours depend on the subspecies.
R. i. dealbatus
R. i. indica (See gallery below)
"R. i. bengalensis (or centralis)
R. i. maxima (See gallery below)
Ten subspecies have been described,[8] but recent authorities generally recognise four:
R. i. indica: Found in the northern and central Western Ghats from around Mumbai to Karnataka. Its upper parts and basal half of the tail are rich reddish-maroon or reddish-brown; the distal part of the tail is whitish or buff. On occasion there can be some black at the shoulder or at the very base of the tail (features typically associated with other subspecies). A few other subspecies have been described within its range based on variations in size, overall colour hue and width of the pale tail-tip, but recent authorities generally regard them as synonyms of R. i. indica.
R. i. centralis: From central and eastern India, notably in the Satpura Range and Eastern Ghats (all other subspecies are from the Western Ghats region). It is relatively small and further differs from R. i. indica by its black shoulder region, black tail except for the pale tip, and sometimes black rump.
R. i. dealbata: Found in southern Gujarat (far northern Western Ghats region), but recent surveys have failed to locate it, and it is possibly extinct. A highly distinctive pale subspecies that is overall creamy-buff with a whitish tail and brown ears. It should not be confused with true albinos, rarely recorded in the Indian giant squirrel, which are whiter and have pink eyes unlike R. i. dealbata.
R. i. maxima: From southern Western Ghats. It resembles a large R. i. centralis, but with more extensive black in the shoulder region and on the rump, and an almost entirely black tail (no pale tip). There is often a black dorsal stripe connecting the black shoulder region and rump. Another subspecies, R. i. bengalensis, has been described from southern Karnataka and northern Kerala, in between R. i. indica and R. i. maxima. It generally resembles R. i. indica, but the tail is black except for its pale tip and sometimes it has black shoulders, thus approaching R. i. maxima or R. i. centralis. Its intermediate appearance and distribution has caused some questions about its validity; it could be regarded as an intergrade and recent authorities often treat it as a synonym of R. i. maxima.
