Indian Palm Squirrel on a Tree Trunk Postcard

Indian Palm Squirrel on a Tree Trunk was taken during a jungle tour in India. The Indian Palm Squirrel can be found anywhere in India. Scampering down tree trunks, nibbling on fruit, or tight-rope walking along telephone wires. But few of us have given the three-striped palm squirrel much thought. The Indian Palm Squirrel has a long history of helping out. According to Ramayana, it earned its stripes for assisting the Monkey Army in building the bridge to Lanka. The squirrel worked tirelessly, the story goes, gathering pebbles and small stones for the bridge’s construction, never mind that its contribution was minimal. Rama was so impressed with its dedication to Sita’s rescue mission, that he caressed the little creature’s back with three fingers, leaving behind three prominent white stripes. There might be some truth to this tale if only to illustrate how hard squirrels work. They are serious seed dispersal agents, crucial to the wellbeing of any environment. They are also fiercely protective, constantly foraging for food, and always on the lookout for twigs, leaves, and, a sign of our changing times, bits of plastic and paper, to make their nests more secure from predators like cats, bats, and crows. Wild animals are amazing and hard to discover. The color of the squirrel is almost the same as the color of the tree trunk.