Sun squirrel

Sun Squirrel in Ghana

The sun squirrel ( Heliosciurus ) are a genus of squirrels of the African forests. They carry their name because they like to be on the highest branches of the trees in the sun.

Features

Depending on the type sun squirrels have a olive-colored, gray, ocher yellow, brown or black coat color. The underside is whitish, yellowish or reddish brown. The body length is 15 to 25 cm, added 15 to 30 cm tail.

Sun squirrels are crepuscular tree dwellers. Occasionally, they also come to the forest floor, but quickly climb a tree at the first disturbance. Before dangers they flee up into the treetops. They seek shelter in tree hollows, where she also their nests, mostly from leaves, build. Although they are solitary life in general, they are not aggressive towards other dogs and tolerate their vicinity. Warning cries and whistles, which are ejected at risk, but speak for a more cross-linked social behavior. The number of young in a litter of one to five.

Like most arboreal squirrels eat sun squirrel nuts, seeds and fruits, and occasionally insects and bird eggs. Enemies of the sun squirrels are small tree-dwelling predators such as genets and Pardelroller. Young squirrels often fall even rats, snakes and ants prey. The dam closes the entrance to his cave with branches, but this is mostly a lack of protection. When a seam of ants, the mother tries to bring to a safe place in the boys mouth.

Species

Differences are five or six species:

• Ruwenzori sun squirrel, Heliosciurus ruwenzorii ( Schwann 1904), Rwenzori Mountains
• Graufußhörnchen, Heliosciurus gambianus ( Ogilby 1835), West, Central and East Africa
• Small sun squirrels, Heliosciurus punctatus ( Temminck 1853), Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana
• Red-legged Sun Squirrel, Heliosciurus rufobrachium ( Waterhouse 1842), West, Central and East Africa
• Variable Sun Squirrel, Heliosciurus mutabilis (Peters 1852), East Africa
• Zanj Sun Squirrel, Heliosciurus undulatus (True 1892), Kenya, Tanzania

The Little Sun Squirrel is often regarded as a subspecies of Graufußhörnchens. Many of the species are highly variable. So the Graufußhörnchen exists in at least seven subspecies, all of which have completely different coat colors. What a subspecies and what a type is, that in each case is often controversial. Rather than call a number of species, speaks Grzimek's animal life of 52 different " forms " in this genre.