Brooke’s Squirrel Sundasciurus brookei is the montane equivalent of the lowland Low’s Squirrel and also has a relatively short bushy tail.
Distinctive features: Note the thin black line which runs the base of the nostril through the whiskers. Note also that the tail is marked with pale indistinct lines and rings.These are features which can be used to distinguish this squirrel from the Bornean Mountain Ground Squirrel Dremomys everetti.
According to Payne and Francis (2007) Both squirrels are found throughout the mountains of Borneo. S. brookei is found from c. 700 -1,500 m asl, whereas D. everetti is found from c.1,000 m up to the treeline at 3,400 m.
Both species overlap in the forest around Kinabalu Park HQ foraging amongst the dustbins both on the ground and on the surrounding railings but S. brookei often forages for bark on tree trunks whereas D. everetti rarely if ever climbs trees.
All photographs by Tomer Ben-Yehuda
