Northern palm squirrels use sight, touch, smell, and acoustics to perceive their environment. They use sight, touch, and smell for finding food. Sounds and visual displays are used in intraspecific communication. Northern palm squirrels are known for their repetitive, shrill, bird-like calls. Use of scent marking or pheromones is not reported in the literature.
Communication Channels: visual ; acoustic
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Northern palm squirrels are listed by the IUCN Red List as Least Concern. This is likely due to their wide distribution and ability to easily adapt to disturbed habitats. There also seem to be large populations of northern palm squirrels in protected areas. Therefore, there currently seems to be little threat to this species.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
Northern palm squirrels have a tendency to live on plantations and around farm lands, so they can be a pest when it comes to eating buds and seeds of food producing plants. They are also known to eat cocoa pods and can damage twigs of important plants.
Negative Impacts: crop pest
Northern palm squirrels have a special liking for the nectar of silky oaks (Grevillea robusta) and while acquiring it become covered in the powdery pollen of these plants. They may play a role in the pollination of these trees, which are non-native in the range of northern palm squirrels. Also, they may play a role in the pollination and seed dispersal of plantation trees, where they are common. Northern palm squirrels could be hunted and used as a food source for humans if needed.
Positive Impacts: food ; pollinates crops
Nothing is known about the role that northern palm squirrels play in the ecosystem. However, they probably play an important role in the spread of seeds, they provide food for birds of prey, and they may pollinate some plants.
Ecosystem Impact: disperses seeds; pollinates
Northern palm squirrels are herbivorous and omnivorous. They typically feed on a wide variety of foods including seeds, nuts, buds, young bark, leaves, insects, flowers, and grubs. They have also been known to eat baby birds. They feed both in trees and on the ground. They store food for later use.
Animal Foods: birds; insects
Plant Foods: leaves; wood, bark, or stems; seeds, grains, and nuts; fruit; flowers
Foraging Behavior: stores or caches food
Primary Diet: omnivore
Northern palm squirrels are native to India, Iran, Nepal, and Pakistan, but are now also found in Afghanistan. They are widespread throughout these areas.
Biogeographic Regions: palearctic (Introduced , Native ); oriental (Native )
Northern palm squirrels are widespread and flexible in their habitat preferences. Typically living in elevations below 4,000 m, these animals have been found in grasslands, scrublands, plantations, and tropical to subtropical dry deciduous forests.
Range elevation: 0 to 4000 m.
Habitat Regions: tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; forest ; rainforest ; scrub forest
Other Habitat Features: urban ; suburban ; agricultural
Little is known about the maximum or expected lifespan of northern palm squirrels. However, one individual lived for nearly 5 years in captivity and was then released into the wild at the age of 6 to 7 years old.
Adult weight is about 147 g. Body length ranges from 230 to 356 mm, including the tail. The tail alone makes up about half of the total body length. There is little known about the metabolic rate of northern palm squirrels. Some key physical features include the stripes on the back. There are typically 3 lightly colored stripes on the back. The top coat color ranges from grayish brown to almost black, while the head is usually grayish to reddish brown.
Average mass: 147.7 g.
Range length: 230 to 356 mm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Nothing is known about predation on northern palm squirrels, but golden eagles and other raptors are found in the same region and are likely predators of these squirrels. Large snakes and other terrestrial predators may also prey on northern palm squirrels.
Known Predators:
Anti-predator Adaptations: cryptic
Northern palm squirrels are gregarious. Up to 10 animals have been seen in one tree at a time. Typically, multiple males fight over one female. The dominant male then mates with the female and leaves her within a couple of days. Breeding occurs several times a year, usually with different partners each time.
Mating System: polygynandrous (promiscuous)
Northern palm squirrels are able to reproduce throughout most, if not all, of the year. Females have 2 to 3 litters yearly. Litter sizes range from 1 to 5, with 3 being the norm. Females have a gestation period of 40 to 45 days. Birth mass of northern palm squirrels is typically about 7 g. The mother will nurse her young for about 2 months. Males and females reach sexual maturity between 6 and 11 months of age. Males mature closer to about 10 months, while females tend to reach sexual maturity at around 7 to 8 months of age.
Breeding interval: Northern palm squirrels breed 2 to 3 times per year. Usually, matings are separated by 4 to 5 months.
Breeding season: Mating can occur throughout the entire year. However, March to April and July to September are the times when most breeding occurs.
Range number of offspring: 1 to 5.
Range gestation period: 40 to 45 days.
Average weaning age: 2 months.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 8 months.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 10 months.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; year-round breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization ; viviparous
Males do not help with the care of young and tend to leave the female 1 to 2 days after mating with her. Female invest heavily in young by building a large nest for them and nursing and protecting them for about 2 months.
Parental Investment: altricial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female)
The northern palm squirrel (Funambulus pennantii), also called the five-striped palm squirrel, is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae.[5] Some authorities recognize two subspecies, F. p. pennantii and F. p. argentescens. It is a semi-arboreal species found in tropical and subtropical dry deciduous forests and many other rural and urban habitats. It is a common species with a wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
It is found in the Andaman Islands, Nicobar Islands (where it was introduced), India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Iran. In India, it is fairly common in urban areas, even in large cities such as Delhi and Kolkata. Two subspecies, Funambulus pennantii argentescens and Funambulus pennantii lutescens, were suggested by Wroughton in addition to the nominate race; however, more recent workers do not make this distinction.
Thorington and Hoffman in Wilson and Reeder (2005) listed only two subspecies: F. p. pennantii and F. p. argentescens.[4] However, Ghose, et al. (2004), described two additional subspecies: F. p. chhattisgarhi (distribution: eastern part of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, and Bihar) and F. p. gangutrianus (distribution: West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Nepal),[6] but Talmale (2007) treated the Maharashtra populations as F. p. pennantii only due to the overlapping in measurements and color variations observed in the specimens.[7][8][9]
It has also been introduced to Australia where it is found in a very limited area.[10] In Perth, Western Australia, there is an established population resulting from zoo escapees,[11] and a population recorded around Mosman, New South Wales and near Taronga Zoo that may have become extinct. The feral populace, known locally as the five-lined palm squirrel, ranges out to the suburbs surrounding the Perth Zoo and also inhabits the grounds. They give birth over a period from August to May and most intensively around the austral spring and autumn.[12]
In India, the southern boundary of the species' range is not clearly identified, and recent records suggest it may extend as far as Madanapalli. The southern boundary on the Western Ghats side clearly extends to localities including Dharwar and Mysore, in Karnataka.[13][14]
The northern palm squirrel is a very adaptable species. It occurs in tropical and subtropical dry deciduous forest, montane forests to altitudes of 4,000 m (13,123 ft), scrublands, plantations, grasslands, arable land, rural gardens and urban areas.[1]
The northern palm squirrel is a common species throughout most of its wide range. It is an adaptable species and no particular threats have been identified, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".[1]
These squirrels do not naturally suffer from foot and mouth disease.[15] Tewari et al. 1976 did experimentally infect them and the resulting disease was severe.[15] However no transmission could be induced.[15]
A five-striped palm squirrel refuses to leave her dead baby. She carried it in her mouth near Deva village in Anand, Gujarat. The northern palm squirrel (Funambulus pennantii), also called the five-striped palm squirrel, is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. Some authorities recognize two subspecies, F. p. pennantii and F. p. argentescens. It is a semi-arboreal species found in tropical and subtropical dry deciduous forests and many other rural and urban habitats. It is a common species with a wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
