Heliosciurus rufobrachium
Silhouette: Joseph Smit · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The red-legged sun squirrel (Heliosciurus rufobrachium) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae, also commonly known as the isabelline red-legged sun squirrel. It is native to tropical western and central Africa where its range extends from Senegal in the west, through Nigeria and the Republic of Congo to Uganda and Tanzania in the east. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and moist savanna. This species is thought to be common and has a very wide distribution, so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
The red-legged sun squirrel is a medium-sized squirrel, with an average head-body length of 24 centimetres (9.4 in) and an average weight of 353 grams (12.5 oz); males are slightly larger than females. They have large eyes, small rounded ears, and a tail about the same length as the head and body combined. The fur is dark brown to grey across the body, but reddish on the limbs and muzzle and black on the tail. Females have two teats on the chest, and another four much further back on the body on the rear part of the abdomen. The brain is slightly smaller... Wikipedia →
Recording0:25
Gabon · 2023
© BurBenj · XC1133118 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Recording0:14
Congo - Kinshasa · 2026
© Daniel Alempijevic · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | Nyungwe National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 3 | Odzala-Kokoua National Park | 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo | |
| 4 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Red-legged Sun Squirrel sighting in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 8th most-seen of the 12 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Red-legged Sun Squirrel in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–April, July, September–October and December, the lowest months. That is one of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park's wettest months, with about 290 mm of rain against 65 mm in January.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red-legged Sun Squirrel sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Red-legged Sun Squirrel sightings, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park ranks 4th at about 20%. The best odds are in Kibale National Park (Uganda, about 40%), Nyungwe National Park (Rwanda, about 30%) and Odzala-Kokoua National Park (Republic of the Congo, about 30%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red-legged Sun Squirrel is recorded against all the mammals logged in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (8 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
