Black giant squirrel resting, bhutan, Bhutan

The beautiful Black Giant Squirrel is one of the largest squirrels in the world. It inhabits tall primary forest and generally remains high in the canopy, but at times may be found at lower levels when feeding. It is largely solitary in habits and extremely shy, rarely coming to ground. It can confidently make huge leaps from branch to branch in the high canopy. The black giant squirrel rarely enters plantations or settlements, preferring the wild forest. Its diet consists of seeds, pine cones, fruits, and leaves. It is primarily solitary, and has a litter of from 1 to 2 young, which it raises in a drey (or nest), often located within a hollow space of a tree.

Its upperparts and tail are jet black, but the cheeks, chest, front of the forelimbs and underparts are cream or orange. The tail is long and dorso-ventrally flattened. It is found in forests from northern Bangladesh, northeast India, eastern Nepal, Bhutan, southern China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and western Indonesia. However, in recent decades, Black Giant Squirrel’s habitat has been steadily encroached upon by human settlement, timber harvesting and agriculture, which along with overhunting by human predation in parts of its range, has resulted in a total loss of up to 30% of the population in the past ten years. However, in some places this species is protected from hunting by law or tradition. It is classified as Near Threatened by IUCN.