Giant purple squirrels do exist—and they have an odd behavior
These four-pound tree dwellers, native to India, have an unusual method for storing their food that's unlike any other squirrel.
On a trip to the forests of southern India, amateur photographer Kaushik Vijayan was stunned to see massive, maroon-colored rodents leaping from treetop to treetop.
Vijayan uploaded the images of the four-pound rodents to Instagram—and the internet promptly went crazy. Some had a difficult time believing that the squirrels, photographed in the Pathanamthitta District of Kerala, actually exist, thanks to the animals’ vibrant splotches of black, cream, and burnt fuchsia.
But the Indian giant squirrel (Ratufa indica), also known as the Malabar giant squirrel, is the real deal.
"This is exactly how they look. Brilliant!” says John Koprowski, a wildlife conservation biologist at the University of Arizona and co-author of the book Squirrels of the World.
It’s “as
