Wildlife in Srivilliputhur Giant Squirrel Sanctuary
Srivilliputhur Giant Squirrel Sanctuary is located in Virudhunagar District, 45 Kms. off Virudhunagar Town, in Tamil Nadu, India. A diverse range of wildlife is present in the dense forest of this animal habitat. Especially many rare and endemic varieties of flora and fauna are found along the mountain slopes.
The sanctuary hosts a variety of birds, mammals, reptiles and several other wild creatures. Animals that can be easily sighted here are tiger, leopard, Nilgiri thar, spotted deer, barking deer, sambar, wild boar, tree shrew, porcupine, Nilgiri langur, lion-tailed macaque, common langur, slender loris, mouse deer bonnet macaque, sloth bear and flying squirrel.
Grizzled Giant Squirrels are present inlarge numbers. This greyish brown squirrel weighs around 2 kg. It measures about 75 cm from nose to tail with the tail being 40 cm. long. They construct dreys (nest) at forked branches where the crowns of neighboring trees meet, which enables the squirrel to jump from tree to tree when threatened. The IUCN lists the species as vulnerable due to the impact of human activities on its habitat.
Over 100 species of birds have been identified, including great Indian horn bill.
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