Slightly bigger than a cat and possibly one of the largest squirrels in the world, the Black Giant Squirrel (Ratufa bicolor) is indeed a beautiful animal.
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| The squirrel measured about a meter from head to tail with the tail almost half of the body length. |
A solitary and extremely shy nature make it a bonus for any nature lover when meet one during their trip.
Despite of their size, they can leap from branch to branch in the high canopy looking for food. At times they may be found at lower level when feeding but rarely coming to ground
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| Searching for juicy fruit. |
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| Really spoilt for choice with so many fruits to choose from. |
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| Look at how the squirrel hold the fruits! The claw are used for climbing and not for food. |
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| The squirrel is enjoying the juicy fruit of Cashew tree! |
I was fortunate to be able to observe this giant squirrel in such a short distance. I saw it about 600 meters away when I was watching birds. I approach the squirrel slowly and managed to take some really close photo.
These photos are taken in Pulau Tioman of Malaysia early this month. There are long tailed macaque on the island as well, perhaps is competition for food that forced this squirrel to look for food out from the dense forest?
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