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ZSI Study On Malayan Giant Squirrel

  • 05 Dec 2020

  • A first-of-its-kind study by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has projected that numbers of the Malayan Giant Squirrel (Ratufabicolor) could decline by 90 per cent in India by 2050, and if urgent steps are not taken, the species could be extinct in the country in subsequent decades.
  • In India, the Malayan Giant Squirrel is currently found in parts of West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Nagaland.
  • Destruction of its habitat could restrict the squirrel to only southern Sikkim and North Bengal by 2050, according to the ZSI.
  • India is home to three giant squirrel species; the other two – Indian Giant Squirrel and Grizzled Giant Squirrel – are found in peninsular India.
  • Giant squirrels are diurnal, but arboreal (tree-dwelling) and herbivorous.
  • The health of the species is critical because it indicates the health of the forests it inhabits.
  • The species is listed as ‘Near Threatened’ on IUCN’s 2016 list, and it is protected under India’s Wildlife Protection Act.