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Indian Palm Squirrel
Funambulus palmarum
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassMammalia (Mammals)
- OrderRodentia (Rodents)
- FamilySciuridae (Squirrels)
- GenusFunambulus (Palm Squirrels)
- SpeciesFunambulus palmarum (Indian Palm Squirrel)
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
155 Verified sightings at Chennai
201 In all 8 parks From 2019 to 2026
April Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted
About the Indian Palm Squirrel
The Indian palm squirrel or three-striped palm squirrel (Funambulus palmarum) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae found naturally in India (south of the Vindhyas), Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. In the late 19th century, the palm squirrel was introduced to Madagascar, Réunion, Mayotte, Comoro Islands, Mauritius, and Seychelles. The closely related five-striped palm squirrel (F. pennantii) is found in northern India, and its range partly overlaps with this species.
The palm squirrel is about the size of a large chipmunk, with a bushy tail slightly shorter than its body. The back is a grizzled, grey-brown colour with three conspicuous white stripes which run from head to tail. The two outer stripes run from the forelegs to the hind legs only. It has a creamy-white belly and a tail covered with interspersed, long, black and white hair. The ears are small and triangular. Juvenile squirrels have significantly lighter coloration, which gets progressively darker as they age. Albinism is rare, but exists in this species.
The Indian palm squirrel exhibits a variety of reproductive behaviors; some display cyclical periodicity activity while others show... Wikipedia →
Sounds
Uncertain0:11
Sri Lanka · 2025
© Nick Talbot · XC1048912 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Recording0:03
India · 2017
© Antonio Xeira · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:14
Sri Lanka · 2024
© Dulyana Apoorva Wanigasooriya · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recent sightings of Indian Palm Squirrel in Chennai
LIVEiNaturalistGlobal Distribution
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sinharaja Forest Reserve | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 2 | Minneriya National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 3 | Wilpattu National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 4 | Udawalawe National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 5 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 6 | Mudumalai National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Horton Plains National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 8 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
Cities Where Found
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vijayawada | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Puducherry | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 4 | Tiruchirappalli | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Coimbatore | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Madurai | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Bengaluru | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Chennai | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Thiruvananthapuram | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Kalyan-Dombivli | 🇮🇳 India |
Zoos & Centres Where Found
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zlín-Lešná Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 2 | Jijamata Udyaan | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Thiruvananthapuram Zoo | 🇮🇳 India |
Before you go
What are the chances of seeing an Indian Palm Squirrel in Chennai?
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report an Indian Palm Squirrel sighting in Chennai on a given day, based on 155 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the most-seen of the 8 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
When is the best time to see an Indian Palm Squirrel in Chennai?
January and April
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report an Indian Palm Squirrel in Chennai on a given day, against about 30% in March and May, the lowest months. Those are among Chennai's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain a month against 290 mm in November.
What time of day is best to see an Indian Palm Squirrel?
Between 4 and 7 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Indian Palm Squirrel sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Is Chennai the best place to see an Indian Palm Squirrel?
8th of 14
Of the 14 cities where we can rate Indian Palm Squirrel sightings, Chennai ranks 8th at about 40%. The best odds are in Vijayawada (India, about 80%), Puducherry (India, about 70%) and Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] (Sri Lanka, about 70%).
Where does the Indian Palm Squirrel sighting chance come from?
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Indian Palm Squirrel is recorded against all the mammals logged in Chennai (155 verified sightings), 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.
