Forest officials said census count at Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary reveals that the number of squirrel nests have gone up to 22,003
The Great Indian Squirrel
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Pune: The endangered Indian Giant Squirrel appears to be perfectly at home in Pune’s Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary. From 11,915 nests last year, the nest count of the squirrel -- native to India -- has gone up to 22,003, the forest department revealed.
Since each squirrel builds around six to eight nests, the population of the creature is estimated between 1,490 and 1,986. The development comes as a great boost to the state’s forest department that has been working towards protecting the endangered species.
The species, which has been declared as the state animal of Maharashtra, is locally known as ‘shekru’ and is mostly found in the western limits of the state. Giant Squirrels are territorial and build about six to eight nests around the area it has marked just before the monsoon approaches, a forest official revealed. Nest building takes place from March to April and again from September to October. The squirrel mostly builds its nests on mango, jackfruit, lemon and jamun trees.
The increase in nests was recorded by state forest officials during the annual census count at the Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary.
Confirming the development, Kirti Jamdade-Kokate, sub-divisional forest officer, said, "We employed GPS counting method to get accurate data. We have been creating awareness about the species for the last few years. Villagers, too, have started planting more trees in the forest."
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