A baby flying squirrel nesting in a rhododendron forest is not something one sees every day in Nepal. The thrill of this recent close encounter with a rare Hodgson's Giant Flying Squirrel in Ilam was indescribable.
As a young student of the conservation biology, I am always looking for excuses to be out in the wild. In March, just before the lockdown, I was part of a biodiversity field survey organised by Small Mammals Conservation and Research Foundation in eastern Nepal.
A three hour bus ride north from Ilam Bazar along rough roads brought us to Maimajuwa, next to the Mai River tumbling over big boulders. We set off with team members Dibya Dahal and two local guides Man Prasad Rai and Birbal Rai.
We were on our way to a spot to set up camera traps. Passing a rhododendron forest at an elevation of 1,920m, a nest high up on a tree caught my attention.
We went closer, but this alerted the animal in the nest. Getting closer, it was clear that it was no bird. But what could it be?
One of the local guides said it could be what the Rai people here call a ‘Phepasa’. And indeed, it was a baby Hodgson’s Giant Flying Squirrel (Petaurista magnificus), looking like a cuddly teddy bear atop its nest.
To take a closer look, I climbed a nearby tree and noticed that the baby squirrel was not unduly perturbed by my presence. But it was alert, and watched me with its dark eyes wide open. The drey was built of clumping twigs, dried leaves lined with fur and moss for cushioning. The mother squirrel might have gone somewhere to search for food, leaving the kitten-sized baby home alone.
Eventually, I got to within 2m of the nest and felt a surge of excitement being so near such a rare and angelic looking baby of the least-known squirrel species in the world. I took some photos, and climbed down.
Squirrels fall under the Sciuridae family in the Rodentia order, meaning that in the evolutionary past rodents and squirrels branched out from the same order. Squirrels are quite common, and in some cities are even regarded as pests. They have a slender body, long bushy tail and arboreal habits that make them good tree climbers.
Flying squirrels are from the same family, and evolved as their ancestors, instead of scurrying down a tree to climb another one, found it easier to glide over. Eventually, they evolved the distinctive membrane air foil (called the patagium) between their front wrists down to the ankles.
