Protoxerus stangeri
Silhouette: Joseph Smit · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%
The forest giant squirrel (Protoxerus stangeri) or Stanger's squirrel is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae found in Angola, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and plantations.
The forest giant squirrel is the largest arboreal squirrel in Africa with a head-and-body length of around 300 mm (12 in) and a bushy tail of a similar length. The head is large and rounded with powerful cheek muscles. The brownish hairs on the top of the head and on the nape are tipped with white giving a frosted appearance. The ears are small, rounded and almost hairless. The body colouring is rather variable across the animal's wide range. The fur is short and stiff; the upper parts are medium brown grizzled with buff or yellow, the individual hairs having black bases, yellow or buff shafts and black tips. The chest is white and the underparts are almost hairless showing the yellowish skin. The limbs are compact...
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kakum National Park | 🇬🇭 Ghana | |
| 2 | Odzala-Kokoua National Park | 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Forest Giant Squirrel sighting in Kakum National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 6th most-seen of the 7 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Forest Giant Squirrel in Kakum National Park on a given day, against about 10% in January, the lowest month. May–June and August have too few records to rate.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Forest Giant 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.
Yes
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Forest Giant Squirrel sightings, Kakum National Park has the highest daily chance: about 40%. Next come Odzala-Kokoua National Park (Republic of the Congo, about 20%).
Same family: Sciuridae
The closest relatives of the Forest Giant Squirrel that you can see in Kakum National Park (family Sciuridae, Squirrels) are Small Sun Squirrel (about 50%) and Red-legged Sun Squirrel (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Forest Giant Squirrel is recorded against all the mammals logged in Kakum National Park (7 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.
