Northern Palm Squirrel

Northern Palm Squirrel

Funambulus pennantii

Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~60% · Likely
at Kanpur

In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%

25 Verified sightings at Kanpur
139 In all 4 parks From 2019 to 2026
December Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Northern Palm Squirrel

The northern palm squirrel (Funambulus pennantii), also called the five-striped palm squirrel, is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is a semi-arboreal species found in tropical and subtropical dry deciduous forests and many other rural and urban habitats. It is a common species with a wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".

It is found in the Andaman Islands, Nicobar Islands (where it was introduced), India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Iran. In India, it is fairly common in urban areas, even in large cities such as Delhi and Kolkata. Two subspecies, Funambulus pennantii argentescens and Funambulus pennantii lutescens, were suggested by Wroughton in addition to the nominate race; however, more recent workers do not make this distinction. Wikipedia →

Sounds

Alarm call1:22

India · 1989

© Jelle Scharringa · XC1025104 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Uncertain0:12

India · 2025

© Nick Talbot · XC1063033 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Recording0:35

Pakistan · 2023

© Jawad Hasan · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Keoladeo National Park 🇮🇳 India
~60%
2 Ranthambore National Park 🇮🇳 India
~50%
3 Bandhavgarh National Park 🇮🇳 India
~30%
4 Chitwan National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
~20%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Agra 🇮🇳 India
~80%
2 Ahmedabad 🇮🇳 India
~80%
3 Jammu 🇮🇳 India
~80%
4 Kathmandu 🇳🇵 Nepal
~70%
5 Jodhpur 🇮🇳 India
~70%
6 New Delhi 🇮🇳 India
~60%
7 Kanpur 🇮🇳 India
~60%
8 Prayagraj 🇮🇳 India
~60%
9 Bhubaneshwar 🇮🇳 India
~60%
10 Varanasi 🇮🇳 India
~60%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Jerusalem Biblical Zoo 🇮🇱 Israel In captivity
2 Jijamata Udyaan 🇮🇳 India In captivity

Closest Relatives at Kanpur

No species of the same family or order lives in Kanpur, so these are its closest relatives here: other mammals.

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Northern Palm Squirrel in Kanpur?

Likely

About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Palm Squirrel sighting in Kanpur on a given day, based on 25 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Northern Palm Squirrel in Kanpur?

December

In that month about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Palm Squirrel in Kanpur on a given day, against about 20% in July and August, the lowest months. That is one of Kanpur's driest months, with about 5 mm of rain against 260 mm in July. November has too few records to rate.

What time of day is best to see a Northern Palm Squirrel?

Between 5 and 8 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Northern Palm Squirrel sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Is Kanpur the best place to see a Northern Palm Squirrel?

7th of 34

Of the 34 cities where we can rate Northern Palm Squirrel sightings, Kanpur ranks 7th at about 60%. The best odds are in Agra (India, about 80%), Ahmedabad (India, about 80%) and Jammu (India, about 80%).

Where does the Northern Palm Squirrel sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Northern Palm Squirrel is recorded against all the mammals logged in Kanpur (25 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.

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