Squirrels are cute and adorable they are among the cutest animals on the planet. They are highly energetic acrobats of nature. A number of the most beautiful squirrels are from the genus Callosciurus referred to as the “beautiful squirrels” genus. These squirrels are found mainly in Southeast Asia, with a few species also occurring in Nepal, northeastern India, Bangladesh, and southern China.
If you think that squirrels that you see every day are cute and beautiful wait until you see our list that will melt your heart.
Here are the top 10 beautiful squirrels in the world.
1. Finlayson’s squirrel
Finlayson’s squirrel or the variable squirrel is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is found in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. There are currently 16 recognized subspecies of these squirrels. Finlayson’s Squirrel is, as its name suggests, extremely variable in color and patterning.
Pelage with overall blackish first with whitetail tip, second occasionally with white underside face and feet. Different subspecies and populations can be partly black, brown, orange-red, cream, or white with diverse patterning.
The interesting thing about these squirrels is that they have a dichromatic mammalian color vision which may enable them to discriminate ripe from unripe fruits.
2. Red Squirrel
The red squirrel or Eurasian red squirrel is a tree squirrel found throughout Eurasia. The coat of the red squirrel varies in color with the time of year and location. There are several coat color morphs ranging from black to red.
Fur color variable from bright ginger through to red and dark brown or black tinged with grey in winter; larger ear tufts in mid-winter which disappear by the summer; bushy tail which bleaches white by late summer in some individuals.
3. Golden-mantled ground squirrel
The golden-mantled ground squirrel is a ground squirrel native to western North America. It is distributed in British Columbia and Alberta through the western United States.
It has whitish or yellow-gray underparts and two white stripes edged with black stripes. The tail is brown to black with buff edges and a yellowish to reddish underside. It has pale rings around the eyes.
These squirrels are often confused with Uinta chipmunks but this squirrel can be easily distinguished because of its facial stripes. The “mantle” across the shoulders is an orange-brown or yellowish-brown to reddish color, with males having a deeper reddish tinge.
This species is distinguished from similar ground squirrels by a black-bordered white stripe down each side of the back.
4. Abert’s squirrel
Abert’s squirrel or the tassel-eared squirrel is a tree squirrel native to the southern Rocky Mountains from the United States to the northern Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico.
The most striking characteristic of Abert’s squirrel is their hair ear tufts, which extend up from each ear 2–3 cm. They typically have a gray coat with a white underbelly and a very rusty reddish colored strip down their back.
There are 9 subspecies of Abert’s squirrels, which may possess several different coat colors. Seven of the subspecies are gray, and the remaining two have either black or brown coats.
Abert’s squirrels feed on the cones, buds, and twigs of Ponderosa pine trees as well as fungus, mushrooms, and tree sap.
5. American Red Squirrel
You may confuse the American red squirrels with Eurasian red squirrels but they are two different squirrels. They are both commonly referred to as “red squirrels” in the areas where they are native.
The American red squirrel is a tree-dwelling squirrel. The American red squirrel is also known as the pine squirrel, North American red squirrel, and chickaree. It is also referred to as Hudson’s Bay squirrel.
The most noticeable characteristics of the American red squirrel are the tail and the eye ring. The squirrel’s tail is bushy and dark red with hints of a white outline. The eye-ring is a thick, white circle around the rodent’s black eyes. They have grayish, red, or rust-colored fur with a white belly.
6. Variegated squirrel
The variegated squirrel is found in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, southern Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama. Fifteen subspecies are recognized. Their color ranges from blackish to reddish-brown to yellowish-gray to white. On the underside, the color ranges from white to cinnamon-buff. The feet and sides of the body are pale gray or yellowish; the ears have a pale patch of fur on the outside.
7. Prevost’s squirrel
Prevost’s squirrel or Asian tri-colored squirrel is found in forests in the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, and nearby smaller islands.
These squirrels are tri-colored; the top of the head, back, and tail are jet-black or brownish, the underparts are reddish-brown, and a white line separates the two colors. They have a bushy black tail.
The top half of a Prevost’s squirrel is colored black while the lower half is a chestnut brown. Running between the two is a white stripe. This white stripe extends onto the face towards the nose which is black. The thighs and flanks are also white.
8. Indian Giant Squirrel
The Indian giant squirrel, also known as the Malabar giant squirrel is the most beautifully colored squirrel in the world. This species is mainly found in India, with main sections of its distribution in the Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats, and Satpura Range as far north as Madhya Pradesh.
The color of the Indian giant squirrel is very unique. It can be black, brown, and orange, as well as maroon and purple. The body of the squirrel varies from deep red to brown with white patches on the belly as well as dirty white or cream-colored underparts and forelimbs.
These squirrels have pink lips. The eyes are colored in bright dark or light brown. The powerful and long tail is light brown with a creamy white tip.
9. Japanese dwarf flying squirrel and Siberian flying squirrel
These adorable flying squirrels are found in Japan and in Europe, from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific coast, and fall under the category of Old World flying squirrels. These squirrels are the cutest and most lovable rodents ever known!.
Japanese dwarf flying squirrel has its back is covered with grey brown-white hair, and its belly is white. It has large eyes and a flattened tail.
While the Siberian flying squirrels’ eyes are large and strikingly black. The coat is grey all over, the abdomen being slightly lighter than the back, with a black stripe between the neck and the forelimb.
A distinctive feature of flying squirrels is the furry glide membrane or patagium, a flap of skin that stretches between the front and rear legs. This helps them to glide from one tree to another.
10. Red and white giant flying squirrel
The red and white giant flying squirrel is an Asian species of flying squirrel common in the nine provinces of the south and central China. Other species of flying squirrels can be found around the world, including North America and Europe, though most are found in India and Asia. These species of giant flying squirrels in Taiwan are named Taiwan giant flying squirrels.
It is clearly the most beautiful squirrel in the world. The red and white giant flying squirrel has been called the largest flying squirrel.
One of its most distinctive physical characteristics is its large eyes. These most beautiful squirrels have blue-colored eyes with rufescent around their eyes. They have straw-colored or large buff patches on the lower back with red upper parts.
They have orange-brown underparts and reddish or blackish feet. Two-thirds of the tail is russet or black-colored with a ring of whitish-brown or orange color at its base.