Paraxerus palliatus
Silhouette: Joseph Smit · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The red bush squirrel or red-bellied coast squirrel (Paraxerus palliatus) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae, which is found in bush and forest along the eastern seaboard of Africa. It is closely related to P. lucifer, P. vexillarius and P. (p.) vincenti.
It is native to Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
The species is smaller (and weighs less) with more rufous pelage in dry forest, and larger and darker in moist forest. Wikipedia →
Recording1:02
South Africa · 2024
© magdastlucia · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Red Bush Squirrel sighting in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, based on 73 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 15th most-seen of the 34 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March–May, September–October and December
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Red Bush Squirrel in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, against about 10% in June, the lowest month.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red Bush Squirrel sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Red Bush Squirrel sightings, iSimangaliso Wetland Park ranks 2nd at about 20%. The best odds are in uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, about 40%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red Bush Squirrel is recorded against all the mammals logged in iSimangaliso Wetland Park (73 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.
