Want to see flying squirrels? If yes then head towards Ranikhet as it is the best place to beat the heat. Here you can get relief from heat and cal also enjoys the view of flying squirrels. The destination is nestled amid the cedar as well as oak forests and offers mesmerizing views of natural beauty along with flying squirrels. This is one of the fantastic and interesting news for nature, wildlife as well as environment lovers.
After Devalsari range, i.e., Tehri in Uttrakhand, now you can see squirrels flying in the jungles of Ranikhet too. As per environmental experts, this is a promising sign of biodiversity and owing to this; the forest department is going to plan conservation by marking the site of this exclusive species. The preparations are also planned out to know the range of species of flying squirrels in mountain placers.
As per experts Flying squirrels also called as Gilihari is not exactly extinct, however the threshold of extinction. He also described it as the extremely enjoyable in relation to biodiversity. As per DFO Kuber Singh, there are in all twelve species of squirrels flying all over India, and this has to be confirmed yet that how many of these species are in Ranikhet as well as in Kumaon.
Earlier, Kamal Goswami, a nature photographer, captured this flying squirrel and tried to capture it on camera. However, the speed of the creature was so fast that it could not be captured clearly. After the struggle he captured it and finally Padmashri Anup Sah, a famous photographer and also member of State Wild Life Advisory Committee identified it and confirmed that it is a flying squirrel, he also claimed its presence in the forest of Nanital. He also said the brown color flying squirrels are very common, but grey color is rare, and it’s nice to find them in the forest of Nanital.
More about flying squirrels
Flying squirrels don’t fly but actually glide and make great leaping which is very much exhilarating. In the body of these flying squirrels, there is a flexible skin from left arm to the last two feet and which spreads the same as an umbrella when they jump from a high position. The interesting thing is that with the support of this umbrella, skin flying squirrels can take a long time to stop themselves in the air and inspects a secure place. Some facts about flying squirrels are listed below:
- The main reason of cuteness of flying squirrels is there big round eyes. These eyes help them to collect more light for better night vision.
- Flying squirrels are very active at night, and some of them also glow at night.
- The size of flying squirrels varies from a few inches to few feet.
As mentioned above, flying squirrels do not fly but can still cover remarkable distances in the air. The glides are recorded by researchers which are up to 295 feet and that means an 11-inch northern flying squirrel can glide about the full length of a soccer field.