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Text and photos by Nick Baker, unless otherwise stated

 EcologyAsia 2008
Copyright ©
 
 
     

 

 
   
Slender Squirrel
   

Typical territorial threat display ; Central Catchment Forest, Singapore.


Photographed at Bukit Timah, Singapore.


Order : RODENTIA
Family : Sciuridae
Species : Sundasciurus tenuis

Head-Body Length : 13-16 cm
Tail Length : 12-13 cm
Weight :120-140 grams

References : M2

A small, charming species the Slender Squirrel occurs in primary and tall secondary forests. It is sometimes encountered in groups of up to ten making its way through the forest, while squabbling and chasing each other. The nest is made of short twigs and stems, and has been observed as low as a metre above the ground in the crooks of trees.

 
 

Searching for food.

   

The upperparts are brown and the underparts light grey to whitish. There is a pale orange-brown area around the eye, and often an orange-brown ear lobe. The ears are small. and the tail long and slender. It feeds on soft tree bark, fruits and small insects.

The species ranges from Peninsular Malaysia to Borneo and Sumatra. In Singapore it occurs in the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and Central Catchment Forests, with a small, isolated population in the Botanic Gardens.