Its main predators are the birds of prey and the leopard. The squirrel is endemic to India, with populations distributed along the Western and Eastern Ghats and Satpura mountain range. Its total length can get up to 100 cm, and it can weigh up to four pounds. When in danger, the Ratufa indica often freezes or flattens itself against the tree trunk, instead of fleeing. Representing the genus Ratufa as its largest species, the Indian giant squirrel (also known as the Malabar giant squirrel) is a behemoth. Pale giant squirrels, brown or tan in colour, are found in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Their unique fur can be found in different shades like brown and orange, and maroon and purple colors rarely found in mammals.

There are three other giant squirrels that weigh three or four times the size of the small white and grey squirrels. Meet the Malabar giant squirrel: Yes, far from the ordinary squirrels youвЂ™ll find climbing trees in your neighborhood, this animal is so vividly colorful itвЂ™s hard to even believe itвЂ™s real.

Interestingly, these squirrels store food in the treetops. The Indian giant squirrel is an upper-canopy dwelling species, which rarely leaves the trees, and requires 'tall profusely branched trees for the construction of nests.' It travels from tree to tree with jumps of up to 6 m (20 ft). Malabar giant squirrels are also known as Indian giant squirrels. Adult head and body length varies between 14 inches (36 cm) and the tail length is approximately 2 ft (0.61 m). The underparts and the front legs are usually cream colored, the head can be brown or beige, however there is a distinctive white spot between the ears. The colors involved can be creamy-beige, buff, tan, rust, brown, or even a dark seal brown. The Ratufa indica has a conspicuous two-toned (and sometimes three-toned) color scheme. It is a large-bodied diurnal, arboreal, and herbivorous squirrel found in South Asia. The Indian giant squirrel, or Malabar giant squirrel, (Ratufa indica) is a large tree squirrel species genus Ratufa native to India.