Spotted Giant Flying Squirrel

The spotted giant flying squirrel (Petaurista elegans), also known as the lesser giant flying squirrel, is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is found in hill and mountain forests at altitudes of 200–4,000 m (660–13,120 ft) in Southeast Asia north to central China and the east Himalayan region, although the northern populations sometimes are regarded as separate species as the grey-headed giant flying squirrel (P. caniceps), Chindwin giant flying squirrel (P. sybilla) and P. marica. Two of these, as well as a few other populations, lack the white spots on the upperparts for which it is named. Although a large flying squirrel, it is a relatively small giant flying squirrel. Like other flying squirrels, it is nocturnal and able to glide (not actually fly like a bat) long distances between trees by spreading out its patagium, skin between its limbs. A rather noisy species that has a drawn-out cry that often can be heard at night, it spends the day in a tree hollow, or, less often, on a cliff ledge or in a nest made of vegetation in a tree. It feeds on fruits, seeds, leaves, buds and flowers, and has one, occasionally two, young per…