Travancore Flying Squirrel

Description: The upper parts of this medium-sized glider are rufous or darkbrownish, the hairs being greyish with a brownish-yellow tip. The fur of its head is darker and more grey, while its lower parts are rufous-white, as are the cheeks and under lip.

Its ears are small, almost with no fur. The margin of its gliding membrane is reddish grey and the bushy tail is black above, with a whitish tip. Its underparts are blackish-brown.

Distribution: Occurs in southern India and Sri Lanka. A spotlight survey in the Western Ghats in south-western India found only three specimens, which were all in evergreen forests. This species was considered extinct until 1989 when it was rediscovered in coconut groves of coastal Kerala State, India.

Reproduction: The female is thought to produce two young.

Diet: In the Periyar Tiger Reserve in south-western India, its diet includes the fruit of Artocarpus gomesianus, Ficus exaspirata, Ficus beddomei, Edana (Olea dioicea), Mango (Mangifera indica), Plum (Flacourtia sp.) and Kannada (Palaquium ellipticum).

It also eats the flowers of Mallotus tetracoccus, Karana (Vernonia arborea) and Melicope lunuankenda. It is known to eat tender coconuts and can cause serious damage to coconut plantations.

Ecology: In southern India there were 70 individuals per square kilometre in one degraded small fragment, and as few as 19 individuals per square kilometre in a very large and undisturbed fragment. In the Western Ghats, only one glider was seen per 10–20 hours of spotlighting. Farmers give coconuts as rewards in the Trichur District to those who kill flying squirrels.

Status: Near Threatened.