• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Trending Worldwide
  • Careers

Bom Boh

enthusiasm for knowledge

Ad example

Yes, These Giant Multicolored Squirrels Are Real

by David Walker 1 Comment

ShareTweet

This week, these photos taken by photographer Kaushik Vijayan went viral — and while they might look Photoshopped, they’re actually very real.

The strange, rainbow-colored creatures featured in the photos are called Malabar giant squirrels, and they’re no April Fools joke.

Malabar giant squirrels are native to India, and look very, very different than the squirrels we’re used to seeing around North America. Their fur comes in shades of black, brown, orange, maroon and purple, which is not a combination we’re used to encountering on an animal. 

“In the shaded understory of a dense forest, the patchy colors and dark hues are a great adaptation to avoiding detection,” John Koprowski, squirrel expert and professor and associate director at the School of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Arizona, told The Dodo. “But when you see these in the sunlight, they show their ‘true colors’ and beautiful pelage [fur].”

In addition to their unusual coloring, Malabar giant squirrels are twice the size of an average eastern gray squirrel, and span about 36 inches long from head to tail. These animals definitely have a presence about them, which is why you would think it would be easy to spot them — but sightings of Malabar giant squirrels are actually quite rare. They dwell deep within the forests of India, rarely come down from the trees they call home and aren’t huge fans of being watched. 

“They are pretty shy,” Pizza Ka Yee Chow, squirrel expert and research fellow at Hokkaido University in Japan, told The Dodo. “One of my friends who lives in India shared with me that the best way to see these giant squirrels is to climb up on a tree, stay very quiet and wait for them to emerge from their [nest].”

With these creatures being so hard to spot, it’s definitely impressive that Vijayan was able to take so many stunning photos of them, capturing them in all their glory.

While Malabar giant squirrels may look more like a character from a colorful cereal box than an animal who actually exists, they are indeed very real, and are an incredible reminder of all the beauty and wonder that exist in the wild.

Source

Facebook Comments Box

Filed Under: Animal Tagged With: Squirrels

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jo Cluck says

    29/10 at

    Can these be imported to the USA?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

More to See

The Wild Bond Between Women and Animals is Captured in Artists’ “Abstract Realism” Paintings

By David Walker

The Masters Of Camouflage, Meet Vietnamese Mossy Frogs

By David Walker

After Being Starved for Days, A Feral Dog Sheds Tears and Bows His Hands in Gratitude as Passersby Feed Him

By David Walker

An Olympic champion was nurtured by a single gay man who adopted a seriously ill child

By David Walker

A Photographer Captures a Spectacular Shot of a Shooting Star Falling Into a Volcano’s Mouth

By David Walker

Senior Cat Loves Christmas So Much That Her Family Gives Her A Year-Round Tree

By David Walker

Depressed Rescue Dog Had No One To Play With Until He Becomes Best Friends With A Rat!

By David Walker

Footer

Bom Boh

We Love Animals give you the news that truly matters to you. Read, look and share the things you are interested in. Welcome!

Recent

  • Acorn woodpecker
  • What’s this? It’s not the Grand Canyon…
  • The 16th-Century “Colossus” sculpture located in Florence, Italy has internal chambers that are hidden from view.
  • The Beauty of the Red River in Cusco, Peru
  • Snowflake (gorilla)

Search

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in