Petaurista elegans
Silhouette: CBG Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics (photograph) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The spotted giant flying squirrel (Petaurista elegans), also known as the lesser giant flying squirrel, is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is found in hill and mountain forests at altitudes of 200–4,000 m (660–13,120 ft) in Southeast Asia north to central China and the east Himalayan region, although the northern populations sometimes are regarded as separate species as the grey-headed giant flying squirrel (P. caniceps), Chindwin giant flying squirrel (P. sybilla) and P. marica. Two of these, as well as a few other populations, lack the white spots on the upperparts for which it is named. Although a large flying squirrel, it is a relatively small giant flying squirrel.
Like other flying squirrels, it is nocturnal and able to glide (not actually fly like a bat) long distances between trees by spreading out its patagium, skin between its limbs. A rather noisy species that has a drawn-out cry that often can be heard at night, it spends the day in a tree hollow, or, less often, on a cliff ledge or in a nest made of vegetation in a tree. It feeds on fruits, seeds, leaves, buds and flowers, and has one, occasionally two, young per litter.
Considerable taxonomic... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kinabalu Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Giant Flying Squirrel sighting in Kinabalu Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 15th most-seen of the 18 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September and December
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Giant Flying Squirrel in Kinabalu Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–February, April, June, August and November, the lowest months.
Between 6 and 9 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spotted Giant Flying Squirrel sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
Only Kinabalu Park, in our data
Kinabalu Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Spotted Giant Flying Squirrel sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Sciuridae
The closest relatives of the Spotted Giant Flying Squirrel that you can see in Kinabalu Park (family Sciuridae, Squirrels) are Bornean Mountain Ground Squirrel (about 50%), Borneo Black-banded Squirrel (about 50%) and Jentink's Squirrel (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spotted Giant Flying Squirrel is recorded against all the mammals logged in Kinabalu 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.
