Is the Red-tailed Squirrel protected in Trinidad and Tobago?

The Red-tailed Squirrel (Sciurus granatensis) is protected under the Conservation of Wildlife Act (COWA, Chapter 67:01). Harming, capturing, or killing this species without authorisation is a criminal offence.

What are the main threats to the Red-tailed Squirrel in Trinidad and Tobago?

Habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict, and hunting pressure are among the primary pressures facing this species in Trinidad and Tobago.

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Red-tailed Squirrel (Sciurus granatensis) in natural habitat

Mammal

Red-tailed Squirrel

Q: Is the Red-tailed Squirrel endangered?

The Red-tailed Squirrel is assessed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The Red-tailed Squirrel is a medium-sized tree squirrel of northern South America and the southern Caribbean, and it is the only native tree squirrel found in Trinidad. Agile and alert, it spends most of its life in the canopy, where its rusty-coloured tail and quick darting movements give it away.

Sciurus granatensis

The Red-tailed Squirrel is a medium-sized tree squirrel of northern South America and the southern Caribbean, and it is the only native tree squirrel found in Trinidad. Agile and alert, it spends most of its life in the canopy, where its rusty-coloured tail and quick darting movements give it away.

Appearance

Body colour is highly variable across its range, but animals typically have grizzled brown or grey upperparts and paler, often reddish to orange underparts, with the long bushy tail frequently washed in rich rust-red. The head and body measure roughly 20 to 28 cm, with a tail almost as long again. The Trinidad and Tobago population belongs to the subspecies chapmani, shared with the neighbouring Venezuelan coast.

Behaviour

The Red-tailed Squirrel is diurnal and arboreal, foraging through the trees by day and resting in nests or tree hollows. It is mostly solitary outside the breeding season and uses sharp chattering and tail-flicking signals to warn of danger.

It is an excellent climber and jumper, moving confidently along branches and trunks. Individuals defend favoured feeding areas and will cache food, helping to disperse the seeds of the trees they feed on.

Diet and breeding

The diet centres on fruits, nuts and seeds, with palm fruits often important, supplemented by flowers, fungi and occasionally insects. By carrying off and burying seeds, the squirrel plays a useful ecological role as a seed disperser and predator. Females build leaf-and-twig nests, sometimes in tree cavities, and give birth to small litters of young that are reared in the nest until they are ready to climb.

In Trinidad and Tobago

In Trinidad the Red-tailed Squirrel is the island's only native tree squirrel, found in forests, plantations and wooded areas, including habitats influenced by people. It is widespread and adaptable, and across its large range it is listed as Least Concern with a stable population. Its presence in cocoa estates and forest patches makes it one of the more commonly encountered native mammals.