Wildlifeof India
Indian Giant Flying Squirrel
Squirrels & Flying Squirrels
Photo: Pieter Prins · CC BY-SA 4.0 (May be cropped or resized)
Petaurista philippensis
Basic stats
Diet
Mainly fruit, especially Ficus racemosa; also bark, resin, shoots, leaves and insects
Habitat
Dry deciduous and evergreen forest at 500–2,000m; also plantations
Size
Head and body about 43cm; tail 50–52cm
The Indian giant flying squirrel, also called the large brown flying squirrel, is a big nocturnal squirrel that spends nearly all its life in the forest canopy. Head and body length is about 43 cm and the tail 50–52 cm. It nests in tree hollows lined with bark, fur, moss and leaves. It is native to India, Sri Lanka, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Taiwan (Wikipedia, general species account).
It lives in dry deciduous and evergreen forest, usually at 500–2,000 m, and has also been recorded in plantations. It is mainly a fruit eater, preferring Ficus racemosa fruit, and also takes bark, tree resin, shoots, leaves, insects and larvae (Nandini and Parthasarathy 2008, as reported on Wikipedia). It is sociable when food is plentiful but aggressive when it is scarce.
Quick answers
- What does the Indian Giant Flying Squirrel eat?
- Mainly fruit, especially Ficus racemosa; also bark, resin, shoots, leaves and insects
- What habitat does the Indian Giant Flying Squirrel live in?
- Dry deciduous and evergreen forest at 500–2,000m; also plantations
- How big is the Indian Giant Flying Squirrel?
- Head and body about 43cm; tail 50–52cm