The Giant Again.....

I think it's about time I show you some more shots and a video I managed of the Grizzled Giant Squirrel/. Don't forget to check the video,he was so close to me when I was shooting that I could almost touch him!


Grizzled Giant Squirrel/Ratufa macroura/ දඬුලේනා

 

 













Posted for Camera Critters.

The Giant....................

I took these shots as I was leaving for work this morning, just a few meters away from home. These big fluffy fellows are abundant in the neighborhood,  though not very easy to photograph. These Grizzled Giant Squirrels/Ratufa macroura/දඩුෙල්නා grow as big as a domestic cat,roughly. They cause considerable  destruction to the garden crops around, fruits and coconut that is, and are considered pests by everybody. But they have no choice, being stranded in a block of land bordered by a highway, a railway line and a paddy field,  with homes scattered over and  a two abandoned gardens. Luckily this particular land is well wooded and the human occupants satisfy by chasing the squirrels away from their garden when ever they can  and tolerating the inevitable loss of crops. But in some places, specially where people grow fruits and coconuts for a living, the situation is very different, I know that for a fact!

 

Grizzled Giant Squirrel (Ratufa macroura) Aka Dandulena Building A Nest

Do you   remember me telling you that its been quite a task to get a Grizzled Giant Squirrel on lens? Well, you couldn't imagine my excitement when I found out one building a nest on a Jackfruit
tree in the garden nest door! It was pretty amazing to see the animal busily carrying twigs in its mouth to the nest with out taking much notice of me. This time I got real close to it and made this footage, which would have been impossible had the squirrels wasn't so absorbed in building the nest. If I'm not terribly mistaken, this one is a male, so it must be the male of this species that builds the nest.  I'll keep an eye on this one and keep you up to date with his progress.

Grizzled Giant Squirrel (Ratufa macroura) Aka Dandulena, A Tricky Customer

I've finally got one of these fluffy fellows on a video after much waiting and struggle, but the result is still not very good. Not that they are a rare sight where I live, they  just are more vary of us humans and prefer to be higher up  in the trees than Three -Stripped Palm Squirrels, and none of them have ever come down to my bird feeders.  

Grizzled Giant Squirrel is not as many in population as Three -Stripped Palm Squirrel, nor is as widely spread.  However, they are more of a nuisance for fruit gardeners and farmers where ever they are found. They love fruits and nuts, and can gnaw right through the shell of a coconut!   I've always observed as them to be solitary, and much less active than Palm Squirrels. Learn more.........