Indian Giant Squirrel

[Sabyasachi Patra]

This is an Indian Giant Squirrel (Ratufa Indica). It spends most of the time in trees, omnivorous. The weight is about 2-3kgs. It is in the Vulnerable category in the IUCN Red list.

I found it at about 10 feet above the ground, which was a rarity. On an impulse, I stoped the vehicle and ran towards it. Instead of running away, this squirrel was curious and came down to the ground and came closer and closer....

Shot in Nagarhole National Park, India. Canon 40D, Canon 70-200 F2.8 L IS USM, EF 1.4x, at 280 mm, f4, 1/200, ISO 400. This is a full frame shot.

[Julie Kenward]

That's an incredible image Sabyasachi! Wonderful composition and I even like the darker lighting. Wish his nose would have been as tack sharp as his eye but it's a wonderfully playful image none the less!

[Bruce Murden]

Is this an ROUS (Rodent of Unusual Size... from "The Princess Bride")? :D

2-3 kg is already large, and this image really emphasizes it and makes for a great portrait of the squirrel. The comp works on its own, and also makes for a good magazine stock image where licensees could put text in. Good find and made the most of the opportunity!

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hi Sabyasachi,
Looks like he's almost pressed against the glass of the lens! At first I was going to reply that my feeling was that it needed more DOF.........but the more I looked at it the more I didn't mind as it does have a whimsical look to it. The eye is tack sharp and it is on the ROT's..........so even the open space isn't as bothersome. As Bruce mentioned.........room for captions or writing. Very unusual look.

[Kaushik Balakumar]

A ditto on what Roman said.
Lovely image. Liked this one more than the other one u posted (with its full body in the frame).