Sigiria Forest #31: Ochre Bush Squirrel
The cache, a small press-top camo-pot, is hidden in a hole in the stump part of a multi-stemmed tree about 8m off the trail. The busy little animal which is the subject of this cache is a common resident of these forests but in over 50 visits I have only spotted it twice. So if you remain quietly observant as you move around the forest trails, you might be lucky to spot one foraging in the thick bushy areas.
See GC4PD3V Karura Forest #1: Intro, info & entry for background info on the forest, opening times, entry fees, etc. and here for a detailed map of Karura & Sigiria Forests and/or download a Google Earth file of the trails here.
To reach the cache: after paying the forest entrance fee, from the Parking at the main Karura Forest entrance (Gate A) to the east off Limuru road @ S 01 14.826 E 36 49.021 head back out of the gate and down to the main road. Cross this busy road (carefully!) and pick up the access track to the Sigiria Forest a short distance north and follow this down a short distance and across the stream to the Sigiria Forest Gate @ S 01 14.804 E 36 48.901 close to the trailhead at Junction 54. From here head right (NNW) up the trail to the cache location, passing Sigiria Forest caches #17, #18 and #19 along the way.
Permission to place the cache was kindly granted by the Director of the Kenya Forest Service.
This largely East African species (Paraxerus ochraceus), also known as Huet's Bush Squirrel, one of 11 species of African bush squirrels is 
found up to 2,500 m asl in tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, grasslands, savannas, shrublands, dry thornveld habitat, thickets, and in wooded riverine strips in arid country in central and northeastern Tanzania, northwards to central Kenya, with probable extensions into south-eastern Sudan and possibly in Somalia.
There are 8 sub-species. The one which occurs in Karura Forest and in S Kenya and most highland forests is P.o jacksoni (also known as Jackson's forest squirrel). It is the largest of the sub-species and generally darker than the others with a greenish tinge and sometimes a pale side stripe near the shoulder.
It is a fairly adaptable species, and is often found in cultivated areas and living in association with humans in the roofs of houses and in suburban gardens.
It is about 16cm long and weights around 100g. It has a dull yellowish-brown fur and a slightly ringed tail. The tail is about the same length as the body and is usually held horizontally behind the body.
It is diurnal and arboreal with most activity in the early morning and late afternoon until abut an hour before dark, resting during the hottest part of the day in dense growth without returning to the nest. They doze in dense tangles of vegetation, sitting along a branch with the tail tucked around the body.
They are very active running quickly long branches and between the ground and tree tops. Calls include a high-pitched metallic 'burr' which it makes when threatened, accompanied by tail flicking.
It is an omnivore but mostly vegetarian, eating primarily eats various fruits and berries including the pulp of podocarpus and the nuts of croton - the kernel of which is extracted with its long pointed tongue through a small
hole nibbled in the shell, seeds, buds, flowers (eating the nectar reservoir and discarding the petals), roots and bulbs dug out of sandy soil. The attack unripe maize cobs on the stem, are fond of acacia gum and eat occasionally animal matter. It is though that they may sometime rob birds' nests as they have been seen being mobbed by birds.
They live in pairs or in a small group (called a 'dray' or 'scurry') of 4-5 individuals. Courtship involves a lot of chasing, mutual grooming and arching of the tail over the body. Reproduction can occur in most months of the year with a brood of 2-3 young. Two females ('does' - males are called 'bucks') with young may nest together. The young (called 'pup', 'kit' or 'kitten') emerge from the nest when 3-4 weeks old. After a week of hesitant exploration near the nest entrance they begin to explore the branches and to play.
When there are several young they may wrestle and chase each other and 'solitary youngsters play with hanging flowers or strips of bark and tumble about hugging their tail and doing forward rolls'. A mother may sometimes carry young in her mouth by gripping the belly whereupon the youngster wraps itself around the mother's neck.
Buzzards, snakes and genets are their main predators.