Many people believe that squirrels are just something out of an American movie and that these animals only exist there. However, six species of this animal have been cataloged in Brazil, and one of them can be found in the Atlantic Forest, on the lands of Santa Catarina.

Serelepe is a squirrel that lives in our Atlantic forest – Photo: Pexels / Reproduction / ND

Serelepe or squirrel (Sciurus aestuans) is a very mobile rodent with a tail length of about 30 centimeters and a weight of about 100 grams. Its teeth are strong and constantly growing, an adaptation for extracting food from the very hard coconuts.

His favorite foods are jeriva coconuts, tukum, heartwood, and butia, and he has a habit of hiding coconuts by burying them in the ground, in bromeliads, ledges, and tree hollows. Because he forgets some of them, they eventually sprout. In the forest, araucaria also feeds on pine nuts.

It reaches sexual maturity in the first year of life, the gestation period is from 28 to 45 days, and 2 to 3 cubs are born.

It is an arboreal species, but descends from trees in search of food or burying seeds. It is diurnal, which is almost an exception among the mammals of the Atlantic forest, since most of them are nocturnal.

Meetings with Serelepe in Santa Catarina

In Santa Catarina, the silverback has already been seen throughout the state, mainly in Guabiruba and Joinville, in the northern region.

The last sighting was in Rio do Sul, in Alto Vale do Itajaí, where Bosque Carlos Gerd Schroeder staff recorded their encounter with the curious animal.

According to local volunteers, the animal has been nicknamed “Chico” and always shows up to pick up nuts left by employees.