Exotic Squirrels

Personally, I find the common gray squirrel to be a graceful if somewhat twitchy work of art - one of nature's greatest achievements. The occasional black or white varieties are sometimes so admired by human feeders they take over entire communities. Several towns even promote themselves as the "Home of the White (or Black) Squirrel" and lure tourists with squirrel mementoes and festivals. Ordinary red squirrels, though they may lack the ornery, abusive personalities that make the gray squirrel so endearing, are equally handsome and athletic.

But in tropical climates, the squirrels sport surprisingly bright multicolor ensembles of rich browns, oranges, yellows, black, white and golds. Prevost's squirrels may be the planet's most flamboyant rodents with their white, black and red stripes in varied hues. Natives of southeast Asian forests, these showy little squirrels have come into conflict with local plantation owners over the tasty oil palm nuts they've learned to love as spreading human development has destroyed much of their natural habitat.

Closely related Plantain squirrels are dressed to the nines with black stripes down their flanks, a thin cream-colored stripe on top, and a touch of red on their bushy tail tips. The primary forests of southeast Asia are their natural habitats, but they have been forced to find refuge in the bushlands and human gardens and plantations. These spunky rodents have adapted to their changing environment by learning to gnaw through the inner bark of rubber trees to drink the rich rubber milk.

Both squirrels are members of the Callosciurus genus, from the Greek word callo, meaning "beautiful." But their beauty doesn't protect either squirrel from the wrath of human neighbors who view them as destructive and costly pests.

Two other squirrels of southeast Asia have avoided serious conflicts with humans, sticking to more traditional squirrel lifestyles. The Lowe's squirrel, named after English explorer Sir Hugh Lowe who "discovered" it, enjoy gnawing on nuts scattered on the forest floor. The giant squirrel, which grows to the size of a typical cat, inhabits much of southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent in the highest branches of the forest trees. A specially adapted digit allows them to cling to the branches and safely jump twenty to thirty feet from branch to branch. The giant squirrel is a bit of a homebody who generally prefers to stick close to his nest, built securely against the tree trunk.

All four species may coexist in the same tropical forest, each using the resources of a completely separate niche. Prevost's and giant squirrels spend much of their day foraging for fruits and nuts in the upper canopy. In the middle layer of canopy, the plantain squirrels live on a varied diet of fruits, nuts, leaves and shoots, and insects. The Lowe's squirrels claim the lower level near the forest floor, dining on bark and sap.

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