Red-legged Sun Squirrel (Heliosciurus rufobrachium) lives in tropical rainforest across Central Africa. It feeds on fruits and seeds. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Red-legged Sun Squirrel
- At just 24 centimetres from nose to tail base and weighing about 353 grams, the red-legged sun squirrel packs the heft of a small textbook into a body the length of a school ruler. Males tip the scale a hair heavier than females, yet both sport a tail as long as their head-body combined, giving them a balanced silhouette for leaping among branches. This compact build lets them zip through the canopy with the agility of a gymnast, turning dense foliage into a three-dimensional playground.
- Spanning from Senegal's Atlantic coast to Tanzania's Indian-Ocean shores, this squirrel threads a continent-wide corridor of forest and savanna. Its range stretches across western and central Africa, threading through Nigeria, the Republic of Congo, Uganda and beyond, yet it never crosses south of the Congo River. Such a massive footprint, coupled with 21 recognised subspecies, shows how the species has fine-tuned itself to a mosaic of habitats, from rain-soaked lowlands to isolated garden trees.
- A daylight forager, the red-legged sun squirrel in the upper and middle storeys of towering trees, where it fruits, gathers seeds and even probes bark crevices for hidden insects and larvae. While fruits dominate the menu, green shoots and tiny arthropods supplement its diet, and in captivity individuals have even snatched birds and eggs from cages.
- Although often spotted alone or in pairs, these squirrels show a social side: they have been observed grooming each other and resting side by side, hinting at a quiet camaraderie. Nests are carved into holes of trunks or branches and lined with twigs still bearing fresh leaves. Breeding twice a year, with usually two pups per litter.
- Despite the pressures of habitat change, the red-legged sun squirrel remains listed as "least concern" by the IUCN, thanks to its broad distribution and adaptability to both primary forests and secondary growth, plantations, even garden trees. Its ability to occupy moist lowland forests, savannas and even mangrove swamps means it can persist where other specialists might vanish.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeCentral Africa
HabitatTropical rainforest
DietFruits and seeds
About the Red-legged Sun Squirrel
In the dappled light of the tropical forest, the Red-legged Sun Squirrel darts with irrepressible energy, its vibrant fur a fleeting glimpse of warmth as it weaves through the underbrush with an air of effortless agility. With each nimble leap, it seems to embody the very essence of its sun-kissed habitat, radiating a sense of joyous abandon as it pursues its never-ending quest for sustenance and adventure. As it pauses to survey its kingdom from the lofty vantage of a towering tree, its bright, inquisitive eyes shine like beacons, illuminating the hidden world of this captivating creature.
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Red-legged Sun Squirrel photographed on Feravox
