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Albino Indian Palm Squirrel Documented in Chennai for the First Time

Indian palm squirrel eating while perched on a branch
Research · Anatomy & morphology

A scientific note published in 2026 documents an albino Indian palm squirrel (Funambulus palmarum) at Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Vandalur, Chennai. Author S. Jeswin describes it as the first such observation from Chennai and the first photographic evidence of albinism in the species from the city.

The squirrel was observed on 13 September 2025 inside the Nilgiri langur enclosure. It had a uniformly white coat and reddish eyes, characteristics identified in the report as diagnostic of albinism. The animal was actively climbing a tree at 11:02, and the observation lasted about 20 minutes while photographic evidence was recorded.

Only one albino individual was seen. Its activity and movements appeared similar to normally pigmented Indian palm squirrels, and no other albino squirrels were observed nearby. The note distinguishes the record from earlier reports of leucism, a different pigmentation abnormality, in the species and describes albinism in F. palmarum as extremely rare.

Sources and image credit

  1. Jeswin, S. (2026). First record of albinism in the Indian Palm Squirrel Funambulus palmarum from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Small Mammal Mail #457, in Zoo’s Print, 41(2), 1–2.

Image: Ganeswaran Thivyasagar — normally pigmented Indian palm squirrel eating while perched on a branch; representative species image, not the albino individual described in the report; Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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