Ratufa affinis
Silhouette: Joseph Smit · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The cream-coloured giant squirrel or pale giant squirrel (Ratufa affinis) is a large tree squirrel in the genus Ratufa found in forests in the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra (Indonesia), Borneo (Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia) and nearby small islands. The species is near threatened and vulnerable to habitat degradation, and it has probably been extirpated in Singapore where the last sighting was in 1995. Reported sightings in Vietnam in 1984 are considered to be dubious.
The cream-coloured giant squirrel is one of the largest squirrels. It has a head–and–body length of 31–38 cm (1 ft 0 in – 1 ft 3 in), a tail length of 37–44 cm (1 ft 3 in – 1 ft 5 in) and weighs 875–1,500 g (1.929–3.307 lb). On average, adults of both sexes have a head–and–body length of about 34 cm (1 ft 1 in) and tail length of 42 cm (1 ft 5 in), while females weight about 1,250 g (2.76 lb) and males 1,050 g (2.31 lb).
As suggested by its name, the cream-coloured giant squirrel is typically overall cream to very light orangish-brown, while the underparts are whitish-cream. In Borneo and nearby small islands where it is the only Ratufa giant squirrel, some populations resemble cream-coloured giant... Wikipedia →
Call0:33
Malaysia · 2011
© Marc Anderson · XC1060958 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sepilok | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 2 | Danum Valley Conservation Area | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 3 | Kinabalu Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 4 | Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Pale Giant Squirrel sighting in Sepilok on a given day, based on 259 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 5th most-seen of the 23 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January, April, July and October–November
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Pale Giant Squirrel in Sepilok on a given day, against about 20% in December, the lowest month.
Between 1 and 4 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pale Giant Squirrel sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Yes
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Pale Giant Squirrel sightings, Sepilok has the highest daily chance: about 40%. Next come Danum Valley Conservation Area (Malaysia, about 30%) and Kinabalu Park (Malaysia, about 20%).
Same family: Sciuridae
The closest relatives of the Pale Giant Squirrel that you can see in Sepilok (family Sciuridae, Squirrels) are Prevost's Squirrel (about 70%), Red Giant Flying Squirrel (about 60%) and Plantain Squirrel (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pale Giant Squirrel is recorded against all the mammals logged in Sepilok (259 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.
