How dare you call me RODENT!!!

An angry squirrel issues a challenge

I will have you know that I am a proud Dusky Striped Squirrel that’s endemic to Sri Lanka! Do you not see the thick dark stripes on my back and the pale stripes running alongside them? Do you not see my glorious bushy tail and its black tip? Hah, ‘rodent’! I challenge you to a duel! Oh, sorry, I didn’t see you there looking up at me. I was just practising some lines from a play I’m in. I’m never this aggressive. In fact, I usually run away whenever danger threatens. You can always tell when I’m scared because my tail fluffs up like a bottle brush!

Fun Facts

You want to know more about the play? Well it’s about a squirrel discovering his origins you see. He was adopted by aristocratic humans and doesn’t know that squirrels are part of the rodent family. Hence his disdain at being called one. He also believes that squirrels eat only fruits, shoots and seeds. There’s a very dramatic scene where he finds out that we forage on the ground and also eat insects and other invertebrates. Very powerful. Written by the famous playwright Twiggy Madarlin. Anyways, I mustn’t get side tracked, nice talking to you, back to rehearsal… En garde villain!

Story of the Photo

Visitors to Explorer by Eco Team in the Sinharaja Rain Forest can easily spot this cute little forest dweller as they are plentiful in the area. Dilum had to stay quite still for quite a while to get this shot of this cute furry creature because they are quite skittish.