Comparison of Nesting site preferences of Ratufa indica indica in Umblebyle Range Forest 2021 and 2022

Ratufa indica indica is a gaint arboreal squirrel species endemic to India, common to Western Ghats. The study is designed to compare Nesting site preferences of Ratufa indica indica conducted in 2022 with the studies from 2021 in the Umblebyle range forest of Shimoga. The study uses Line transect methodology which was plotted using Arc GIS that includes 20 line transects of 47.7 kms covering a total area of 8350.89ha. Study from 2021 showed a total of 406 dreys (nests) constructed on 385 trees while the one from 2022 showed a total of 455 dreys constructed on 415 trees. The nest trees from 2021 belonged to 20 families and 41 species while the one from 2022 belonged to 22 families and 36 species with highest preference Family Fabaceae that included 12 tree species in 2021 and 8 tree species in 2022 respectively. Terminalia paniculata was most preferred tree species that included 84 and 85 trees in 2021 and 2022 respectively.The study also showed the animal preferred average tree height of 16.18 ± 3.43 (2021) and 18.05 ± 3.485m (2022). The studies further showed preference of Ratufa indica indica for deciduous trees over semi-evergreen and evergreen trees.