Tufted ground squirrel facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tufted ground squirrel
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Sciuridae
Tribe:	Sciurini
Genus:	Rheithrosciurus J. E. Gray, 1867
Species:	R. macrotis
Binomial name
Rheithrosciurus macrotis (J. E. Gray, 1857)
Tufted ground squirrel range
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The tufted ground squirrel (Rheithrosciurus macrotis) is a special type of squirrel that lives only on the island of Borneo. It's also sometimes called the groove-toothed squirrel because of its unique teeth. This squirrel is the only one of its kind in the Rheithrosciurus group. It mostly eats nuts, seeds, and insects, and people have filmed it looking for food on the forest floor.

What Does It Look Like?

This squirrel's body and head are about 33.5 to 35.2 centimeters (13 to 14 inches) long. Its tail is almost as long, measuring about 29.9 to 34.2 centimeters (12 to 13 inches). It weighs around 1 to 2 kilograms (2 to 4 pounds).

Unique Features

One special thing about this squirrel is its incisors, which are its front teeth. They have 7 to 10 clear grooves running down them. Its skull is also different from most squirrels; it's longer and flatter.

The squirrel's back is mostly brown with a reddish color. It has very hairy ears with big tufts of red to dark brown fur. A stripe, which can be white, buff, or yellow, runs along its side. Sometimes, there's also a dark brown stripe next to it.

Its Amazing Tail

The tufted ground squirrel is famous for having the biggest tail compared to its body size of any mammal. Its tail, including all the fluffy air, is about 130% the size of its body! For comparison, a red squirrel's tail is about 90% of its body size.

Scientists aren't completely sure why this squirrel has such a huge tail. Some ideas are that it helps to confuse predators or stops them from getting a good grip if they try to attack. It might also be used to talk to other squirrels or during courtship. Other ideas, like using it to stay warm or for balance, don't seem likely because the squirrel lives on the ground in a warm place. The tail is a mix of charcoal gray and white, and it stands up like a plume, with the longest hairs at the very tip.

Where Does It Live?

This squirrel is only found on the island of Borneo. It lives on hillsides in the main lowland forests, usually below 1,100 meters (3,600 feet) in height. Sometimes, people have seen it in fruit orchards or forests that have grown back after being cut down, but this is rare.

Because forests are being cut down, the tufted ground squirrel is considered vulnerable. It is fully protected in Sarawak, one of the Malaysian states on Borneo. However, in Sabah, the other Malaysian state on the island, hunting it with a special permit is allowed. Some local people use the squirrel's tail to decorate the handle of their parang knives.

What Does It Do?

The tufted ground squirrel is thought to look for food on the ground and in the lower parts of trees. It holds its big tail high over its head while it moves around. It also climbs tall trees to find food. This squirrel is active during the day.

The "Vampire Squirrel" Story

Locally, this squirrel has a strange reputation and is sometimes called the "vampire squirrel." Hunters from the Dayak group, who live in the forest, say that it attacks and kills deer. They claim the squirrel eats the deer's stomach contents, liver, and heart. The story goes that the squirrel waits on low branches, jumps onto passing deer, and bites their neck veins to make them bleed to death. After the deer dies, the squirrel eats its insides. Hunters say they sometimes find deer killed this way and believe the squirrels are responsible. It's also said to kill chickens and eat their hearts and livers.

Even though this sounds like a wild story, the naturalist Edward Banks wrote in 1949 that the squirrel was "wary, difficult to observe and biting fiercely." Also, some other types of squirrels are known to hunt small animals. However, scientists have never actually seen the tufted ground squirrel act like a carnivore. We do know it has a very specific diet that includes nuts from the canarium tree, along with other fruits, seeds, and insects.

Research and Discovery

Not much is known about the life of the tufted ground squirrel. In June 2014, a scientific paper about it was published in the journal Taprobanica. In 2015, researchers in the Gunung Palung National Park in Borneo were able to get the first clear video of the animal. They used cameras that turn on when they sense movement. These videos showed the squirrel looking for food on the forest floor.