Sri Lankan Giant Squirrel

activity

Activity patterns. The Sri Lankan Giant Squirrel is diurnal and lives most often above 20 m in the canopy, where it constructs a spherical drey of twigs and leaves 30 - 40 cm in diameter. Dreys are constructed and anchored with climbing vines and lianas in midto-upper branches of canopy. These squirrels usually exit their nests in the morning at ¢. 06: 00 h and can be active throughout the day but are most active between dawn and 10: 00 h, with a second peak of activity that begins after 14: 30 h. Rain and high temperatures reduce activity outside of the nest. Feeding accounted from ¢. 38 % of daily activity with 26 % of the day spent resting on tree branches. Individuals move to lower canopy when threatened by their most significant natural predator, the Indian black eagle (Ictinaetus malayensis), and upward when human poachers are present.

Sciuridae

biology_ecology

Habitat. Evergreen broadleaf forests of southern India and Sri Lanka. On eastern side of the Western Ghats in Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, the Sri Lankan Giant Squirrel lives in riparian forests dominated by 7 Terminalia (Combretaceae), Tamarindus, Pongamia, and Albizia (all three family Fabaceae), Mangifera (Anacardiaceae), and Syzygium (Myrtaceae), and is often found in scrub and dry deciduous forests below c. 500 m, especially when sympatric with the Indian Giant Squirrel. In Sri Lanka, it has been reported from a variety of dry and humid forests but seems most common in lowlying forests, especially associated with tamarind (Tamarindus indica).

Sciuridae

biology_ecology

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Population density of the Sri Lankan Giant Squirrel is low (less than 5 ind / 100 ha) with slightly more females found in a population than males. Locomotory behavior accounts for ¢. 8 % of day. The Sri Lankan Giant Squirrel is solitary and territorial, covering areas of 0 - 82 - 10 ha with no discernible difference between sexes. Although there is intraspecific territorial defense through aggressive chases and deposition of scent marks, males and females may overlap 22 % in undisturbed areas and 58 % in disturbed forests. Movement is greatest in dispersal and post-dispersal seasons (May — October) than during the seasons with young in and near the nest (November — April); over the course of a year mean distance of travel was 860 - 3 m / day for males and 694 - 3 m / day for females. The Sri Lankan Giant Squirrel lives in the middle and upper canopy, seldom below 20 m.

Sciuridae

breeding

Breeding. Breeding in the Sri Lankan Giant Squirrel follows a mating chase between the male and estrous female culminating in a copulation lasting a few seconds. Female is receptive only for a single day each year in October or November. Gestation lasts 26 - 28 days with peak season of birth in early December. Litter size is often just one young. Young remain in the nest for 2 - 6 months before emerging in late February. Weaning is complete by 4 - 6 months of age with dispersal occurring May-July. Ratio of adult female to young in the population is 1: 0 - 3 or 0 - 32.

Sciuridae