An Unreported Population of the Grizzled Giant Squirrel Ratufa Macroura

2008·0.52 MB·

by  Kumaran Sathasivam

,
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
AN UNREPORTED POPULATION OF THE GRIZZLED GIANT SQUIRRELRATUFA MACROURA'
3.
KumaranSathasivam2 V.Santharam3 K.V.Sudhakar4andT.BadriNarayanan5
, ,
‘AcceptedApril 25, 2008
229Jadamuni KoilStreet, Madurai 62500),TamilNadu, India. Email: [email protected]
'Institute of Bird Studies & Natural History, Rishi Valley Education Centre, Rishi Valley RO. 517 352, Chittoor district,
Andhra Pradesh, India. Email: [email protected]
J10 South Leith Castle Street, Santhome, Chennai 600 028, Tamil Nadu, India. Email: [email protected]
5262,2ndMain Road,Gomathipuram, Madurai 600020,Tamil Nadu. India.Email: [email protected]
TheSirumalaiHillsareacompactrangeofhillsinTamil The GrizzledGiant Squirrel is anendangered species
Nadu, southern India. They are located in Dindigul district, and has been reported from only a few locations in India:
withthecentreatroughly 10° 13'N,78° 15'E.TheSirumalais theSrivilliputturGrizzledGiantSquirrel Sanctuary(Joshua
extend over an area approximately 20 km long and 13 km and Johnsingh 1994), Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary
wide. They are outliers of the Western Ghats, close to the (Ramachandran 1989),KudirayarinthePalniHills(Davidar
Palni Hills. The highest peaks in the Sirumalais are nearly 1989), Muttatti in Karnataka (Karthikeyan etal. 1992) and
1,400 m high. A plateau of 1,000 m height is a significant SathanurDam(M. Krishnanpers.comm, toK.V.Sudhakar).
feature of this hill range. The slopes of the hills are fairly Its total population in India has been estimated at
steep.The plateau iscultivatedandhas scanty anddegraded just a few hundred individuals (Joshua and Johnsingh
natural forest, whereas the slopes are well forested. 1994).
While surveying the Sirumalais for birds in 2006 and TheSirumalai Hillsmustnowbe includedintheselect
2007,wefoundtheGrizzledGiantSquirrelRatufamacroura list oflocations where the Grizzled Giant Squirrel is found.
at various locations (Table 1). Our records of five or six individuals from well-separated
At every instance we saw the squirrels, except at parts of these hills suggest that a significant population of
Velampanne,where weonlyheardtheircalls. Kolinjipatti isat thisendangeredmammalexistshere.
thefoothills,andalltheotherlocationsareontheplateau.From Our bird survey was supported by a grant from the
our discussions with the staff of Kandighe Estate, we learnt Oriental BirdClub.WearegratefultoMr. V. NarayanSwami
thattheanimalsareregularly seen intheirestateand thateven and the staff of Khandighe Estate for the hospitality and
threetofouranimalshavebeen seen togetherat times. facilitiesoffered.
Table 1: DetailsofrecordsoftheGrizzledGiantSquirrel RatufamacrouraintheSirumalais
Date Location Numberofindividuals Habitat
August2006 KandigheEstate 1 Riverine
April2007 HorticulturalStation 1 Riverine habitatwith manyoldandtalltreesaswellas
introducedtreessuchasEucalyptus, Pineand Grevilleasp.
July2007 Velampanne 1 Disturbedforestandsilkcotton plantations
September2007 Kolinjipatti 2, possibly3 Riverineforest(includingtall Terminaliaarjuna
Albizzialebbek,mango,andtamarindtrees);
deciduousforest; fruitandcoconutplantations
REFERENCES
Davidar, P. (1989): Grizzled Giant Squirrel Ratufa macroura - Karthikeyan,S„J.N.Prasad&B.Arun(1992):GrizzledGiantSquirrel
DistributioninKudirayar.J. BombayNat.Hist.Soc.86(3):437. RatufamacrouraThomasandWroughtonatCauveryValleyin
Joshua.J. &A.J.T.Johnsingh(1994):Impactofbioticdisturbanceson Karnataka. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 89(3): 360-361.
the habitat and population of the endangered Grizzled Giant Ramachandran, K.K. (1989): Endangered Grizzled Giant Squirrel
SquirrelRatufamacrourainsouthIndia.Biol.Conserv.68:29-34. habitat.J. BombayNat. Hist.Soc. 86(1): 94-95.
J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 105 (2), May-Aug 2008 213