Ratufa macroura
Silhouette: Joseph Smit · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The grizzled giant squirrel (Ratufa macroura) is a large tree squirrel in the genus Ratufa found in the highlands of the Central and Uva provinces of Sri Lanka, and in patches of riparian forest along the Kaveri River and in the hill forests of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala states of southern India. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the species as near threatened due to habitat loss and hunting.
Grizzled giant squirrels are named for the white flecks of hair that cover their greyish-brown bodies, giving them a grizzled look. In Sinhala, they are known as dandu lena (දඬු ලේනා, lit. "stalk[-tailed] squirrel"); while in Tamil, they are called periya aṇil (பெரிய அணில், "giant squirrel") or malai aṇil (மலை அணில், "hill squirrel").
R. macroura is the smallest of the giant squirrels found in the Indian subcontinent, with a head and body length of 25 to 45 cm (10–18 in), and tail measuring roughly the same or more, for a total length of 50 to 90 cm (20–35 in). It has small rounded ears with pointed tufts. The home range of an individual is between 1,970 and 6,110 m2 (21,200–65,800 ft2).
Subspecies dandolena... Wikipedia →
Alarm call0:11
Sri Lanka · 2007
© Jelle Scharringa · XC1025065 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilpattu National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 2 | Minneriya National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 3 | Sinharaja Forest Reserve | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 4 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 5 | Udawalawe National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Zoological Gardens of Sri Lanka | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 2 | The National Aquarium Abu Dhabi | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Sri Lankan Giant Squirrel sighting in Yala National Park on a given day, based on 43 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 15th most-seen of the 16 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.
August and October
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Sri Lankan Giant Squirrel in Yala National Park on a given day, against about 20% in July, the lowest month.
Between 3 and 6 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sri Lankan Giant Squirrel sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
4th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Sri Lankan Giant Squirrel sightings, Yala National Park ranks 4th at about 40%. The best odds are in Wilpattu National Park (Sri Lanka, about 50%), Minneriya National Park (Sri Lanka, about 50%) and Sinharaja Forest Reserve (Sri Lanka, about 40%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sri Lankan Giant Squirrel is recorded against all the mammals logged in Yala National Park (43 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.
