Volume 25, Issue 75, January - June, 2024

First photographic evidence of black giant squirrel Ratufa bicolor (Sparrman, 1778) in Makawanpur District, Nepal

Sachet Timilsina^1♦, Bishnu Prasad Pandey¹, Hari Sharan Giri², Bishnu Prasad Bhattarai³, Bikram Shrestha⁴

¹Institute of Forestry, Tribhuvan University, Hetauda Campus, Hetauda 44107, Nepal
²Himalayan Environment & Public Health Network, Bharatpur, Nepal
³Central Department of Zoology, Institute of Science and Technology, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal
⁴Department of Biodiversity Research, Global Change Research Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic

^♦Corresponding author
Institute of Forestry, Tribhuvan University, Hetauda Campus, Hetauda 44107, Nepal

ABSTRACT

The black giant squirrel (Ratufa bicolor), a Globally Near Threatened species has been the first recorded sighting in Nepal's Makawanpur district. We present the photographic record of two black giant squirrels in lowland broad-leaved forest at 592 meters. Previously, evidence of the black giant squirrel in Nepal was primarily confined to lowland and mid-hill broad-leaved forests in central and eastern parts of the country. Observations in Makawanpur of central Nepal suggest a potential range expansion of the black giant squirrel. Research suggests that this species is found in scattered, restricted areas beyond protected zones, highlighting the urgency of conservation initiatives and additional research.

Keywords: Black giant squirrel, Ratufa bicolor, broad-leaved forest, tropical zone, Nepal

Species, 2024, 25(75), e8s1630

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v25i75.e8s1630

Published: 23 March 2024