Brazilian squirrel

The Brazilian squirrel (Sciurus aestuans), also called the Guianan squirrel, is a tree squirrel endemic to South America, found in south-eastern Colombia, Brazil, Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname and Venezuela. Its fur is mainly olive-gray with brown or yellow grizzling, with a pale yellow-brown ring around each eye and a belly that is typically white, cream, buff or pale yellow. The head and body measure 160 to 186 millimetres, the tail adds another 162 to 250 millimetres, and body mass is typically 160 to 380 grams. It inhabits tropical rainforests, swamps and wet forests and gallery forests, and also turns up in urban parks, gardens and plantations. Brazilian squirrels are diurnal, most frequent in the understory, and they feed mainly on palm nuts alongside acorns and other seeds, using distinct handling techniques for different palm fruits that young animals learn. They are not strongly territorial, and females have been seen pregnant in winter and summer, suggesting two breeding seasons. Ocelots, margays and Cebus monkeys are among their observed predators.