Funambulus tristriatus
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The jungle palm squirrel, jungle striped squirrel, or Western Ghats squirrel (Funambulus tristriatus) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae which is endemic to India. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, but it is tolerant to habitat changes and is also common in tea plantations in the Western Ghats. It is confined to forests with tall trees along the west coast of the Indian Peninsula. This confinement has led the jungle palm squirrel to be considered a pest on cacao, mangos, grapes, and sapota, plants that commonly grow in the type of forest.
The ratio between males and females is not split evenly; males have been reported to have a larger population share. Potential factors for the uneven sex ratio include differences in "rate of persistence, mortality, dispersal, and predation pressure".
Advani, Ranjan; Sujatha, A. (1984). "Body weights, sex ratio and population structure of the Western ghat squirrel, Funamhulus tristriatus". Proceedings: Animal Sciences. 93 (5): 491–496. doi:10.1007/bf03186296. S2CID 129830888.
Kumara, Honnavalli N.; Singh, Mewa (2006). "Distribution and... Wikipedia →
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India · 2024
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India · 2025
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India · 2021
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| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Periyar National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Jungle Palm Squirrel sighting in Periyar National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 11th most-seen of the 14 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.
February
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Jungle Palm Squirrel in Periyar National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March–April, July and November, the lowest months. That is one of Periyar National Park's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain against 410 mm in August.
Between 4 and 7 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Jungle 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.
Only Periyar National Park, in our data
Periyar National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Jungle Palm Squirrel sightings: about 30% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Jungle Palm Squirrel is recorded against all the mammals logged in Periyar National Park (5 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.
