When John Kaprowski first saw the Malabar giant squirrel, also known as the Indian giant squirrel, he couldn’t believe his eyes.
With its huge size, the animal looked more like a primate than a squirrel – so John thought during a visit to India.
But not only the size of the Malabar giant squirrel is impressive, the color of its fur is also unique – see the amazing photos below:
In fact, it’s just a very large squirrel, almost twice the size of the eastern gray squirrel, and is different from those we are used to seeing.
They can be a variety of colors, such as black, brown, orange, burgundy and purple.
Burgundy and purple shades are generally unusual for mammals, which makes them even more special.
These bright colors and beautiful patterns are not only beautiful to look at, but also help them survive in the wild.
Their diet includes fruits, flowers, nuts and tree bark. Some subspecies are omnivorous, also feeding on insects and bird eggs.
Malabar giant squirrels rarely walk on the ground and live high under the canopy of the forest, jumping from tree to tree, sometimes jumping more than 6 meters!
Fortunately, these magnificent animals are not currently endangered, but they need to be protected.
The chances of seeing one of these animals in the wild are very small.
You will not only have to go to eastern or southern India, but also go deeper into the forests.
