90 THE FORESTS OF UPPER INDIA 



and snorting with terror. Leopards will seldom face 

 fires, and the natives take good care to keep a spark 

 burning and to shout when the dogs bark. 



We overtook Mr. Drummond at Gula Dhura, in a 

 beautiful camp under giant sycamores on a ledge some 

 distance above the Kali. Here, when sitting outside 

 our tents after dinner, enjoying the cool, still air and a 

 scene quite beautiful, lighted by a lovely moon glinting 

 through the dark foliage overhead, there came a troop 

 of flying squirrels, leaping from branch to branch and 

 tree to tree. The performance is a peculiar one. They 

 are like very large squirrels, say 3 feet long, with wings 

 as well as legs, and a long bushy tail. They feed on berries 

 and acorns among the branches, and you can see them 

 running up the stems and to the highest branches of the 

 trees. Then they appear to spread their wings and shoot 

 themselves into space. With a kite-like motion they 

 cross the gap to the nearest tree, landing among its lower 

 branches safely, and ready to climb up again and take 

 another flight from the top branches as before. Not know- 

 ing what sort of animals these could be, we watched them 

 for a long time with much astonishment. The enigma 

 was, however, solved on one being shot and examined. 

 They possess a light, thin, web-like membrane like the 

 bat tribe, which stretches between arms and legs and 

 tail. When flying, they simply spread out their legs 

 and arms, and become kites, or parachutes, able to shoot 

 distances of thirty or forty yards in a slanting direction.* 



* These were probably the Pteromys niagnificits, described by 

 Jerdon as body 14 inches and tail 20 inches long, which is found in 

 the Himalayas up to 9,000 feet elevation. But as there are eight 

 different species of flying squirrels in India, all of similar shape and 

 habits, it is not impossible that the species given is incorrect. The 

 skin was certainly dark brown with rufous belly, fur very silky and 

 beautiful. There are other kinds much lighter in colour, and even 

 white on the belly. 



