Ecological determinants of occupancy of Grizzled Giant Squirrel Ratufa macroura dandolena, its activity pattern and habitat use in Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnataka, India

Abstract

Grizzled giant squirrel Ratufa macroura dandolena is confined to a few forest fragments in India, lacks population status, and is often ignored in management. The northernmost distribution is the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary where the habitat is threatened due to anthropogenic activities. Therefore, occupancy and habitat requirements for their activities are essential to manage them. We sampled 158 grid cells for the occupancy of squirrels and followed two adult males and two adult females for ten days to study their behavior. The detection probability, naïve occupancy, and the estimate of occupancy were 0.10, 0.13, and 0.42, respectively. The basal area and canopy cover positively influenced the occupancy, while the tree height and forest cover negatively influenced it. Males rest more while females spend more on feeding and moving. The day path length and home range sizes of females were more than those of males. Of the 25 plant species fed by squirrels, Albizia amara, Muntingia calabura, Tamarindus indica, and Ziziphus oenoplia are the most fed plants. Of the 255 nests recorded, 42.35% were on T. indica and 23.14% were on Terminalia arjuna. More than 80% of the nests were between 11 and 20 m in the tree.