Do you love squirrels, and find them adorable? Imagine this: in India, their cousins are even cuter... and bigger!
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The Indian giant squirrel is also called the Malabar giant squirrel, and it resides almost exclusively in the forests there. This rodent has all the characteristics of its European cousin - it lives in trees and it’s herbivorous - but the Indian animal is much bigger: its body can measure 40 cm and its tail is almost 50cm more! Very agile and athletic, it can jump six metres to reach the next branch.
Beautiful fur
What makes this large squirrel all the more charming is its coat. Where the squirrels we know are red from head to toe, the giant squirrel has a dark back, while its legs are almost white. Its thick tail has the same colour scale: first very dark, moving to brighter hues.
When it spends time in the sun, its fur takes on shimmering colours: the dark brown on its back becomes slightly bluish and the red parts become very bright. It’s a beautiful phenomenon to observe, if you’re ever lucky enough to come across this adorable furball!
Check out the video above to see this incredible creature for yourself!
