The Squirrels of Sangha Lodge
Forest giant squirrel (Protoxerus stangeri)
Also known as the African giant squirrel.
The largest squirrel in the area, very common in the forest around the lodge. Often seen on the trails to the west. The tail is held behind the body or dangling below. Sometimes mistaken for Red-legged sun squirrel due to reddish colouration on the hind limbs. The yellow bare area behind the eye and the distinctive shape of the head are easily identifiable characteristics.
Red-legged sun squirrel (Heliosciurus rufobrachium)
Surprisingly few photos of this relatively common species are captured. It rarely forages on the ground so avoids our camera traps. It is similar in colour to the giant squrrel and in size to the green bush squirrel.
Jon Hall of MammalWatching.com has allowed us to use this photo he took while visiting.
Since writing this page, we've made a concerted effort to get some more footage of this squirrel, as there was surprisingly little in our archives. A camera trap in a tree swiftly rectified this.
Fire-footed rope squirrel (Funisciurus pyrropus)
This species is one of those sometimes encountered on the forest floor where it spends much of it's time. It is uncommon at the lodge and seen more frequently on a visit to Bai Hokou.
As per its name, its most distinctive feature is orange-red colour of its legs.
Red-cheeked rope squirrel (Funisciurus leucogenys)
Another squirrel often seen on the ground the Red-cheeked rope squirrel feeds on fruit and grains. The tail sometimes appears to have a red patch near the tip. This tail patch and the colur of the legs allow it to be distinguished from fire footed.
At the lodge, look for these along the Babongo trail to the north.
Thomas's rope squirrel (Funisciurus anerythrus)
Very common in the palms and other trees along the edge of the river at
the lodge and quite vocal. It has a single pale side strip and a
relatively short tail. The vocalisations of this rope squirrel are an
everyday sound here. Wait quitely on the decking at the bar, and you
should see one soon enough. Nearly always seen near water.
Lady Burton's rope squirrel (Funisciurus isabella)
More commonly heard than seen. This small rope squirrel has a distinctive call, but it can be difficult to obtain good views. It is one of two very similar rope squirrels that can be found here Both of which have four black stripes and a relatively short tail. Lady Burton's differs from Ribboned Rope Squirrel in that the coloration in between the black stripes is the same.
African pygmy squirrel (Myosciurus pumilio)
This tiny squirrel is very occasionally seen round the lodge, and more often on the treks we organise to various landmarks on our land. We've never caught this on a camera trap, and the speed that these tiny creatures move make photographing them difficult. We'll add a photo to this page once we have one.
Ebian's palm squirrel
(Epixerus ebii)
This is a large, mostly ground dwelling squirrel. It is very shy and rarely seen but appears to be relatively common around the lodge. We have footage from multiple locations on our property and our concession. We hope that our continued exploration and reviews of the data we collect will lead to more discoveries and shows how there is still to learn about the environment that surrounds us.