Nicobar tree shrew photographed

This video from the USA is called Philadelphia Zoo Large Tree Shrew.

From the Indian Express:

Finally, endangered tree shrew caught on camera

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Sunday , Sep 20, 2009 at 0220 hrs

It’s a squirrel but one that is so rare that it has never been photographed.

No, squirrels are rodents. While tree shrews are neither rodents nor true shrews. They are a mammal order of their own, now thought to be related to primates.

So when a team of ornithologists from Pune along with the Indian Navy conducted an avifaunal survey of the Andaman and Nicobar islands, it came as a surprise to find this endangered ‘tree shrew’.

Dr Satish Pande and others from the Ela Foundation have recorded their observations in the current issue of the international Journal of Endangered Taxa — showing that this ‘Nicobar Tree Shrew’ (Tupaia nicobarica) is a small mammal species endemic to India and its distribution is restricted to Great Nicobar and Little Nicobar islands.

Since entry to Nicobar islands is restricted and is allowed only after tedious formal permissions from government authorities, and considering the logistics involved, any recent records of poorly known, endemic and endangered species like Nicobar Tree Shrew are valuable, Pande told The Indian Express.

A pair of the tree shrews was seen on a tree in the rainforest about 12 km from Campbell bay. The pair was quite active and the two members were seen chasing each other. They were seen preferably keeping to the shady parts. The pair disappeared as they moved away to another tree. The species was not seen again during our entire survey thereafter on this island, recalls Pande. The rare photograph was taken by Pande and it is perhaps the first detailed visual documentation of this species in the wild in its natural habitat on Great Nicobar island. Since data is deficient about this species, it is always vital that the mammal is listed as an endangered species.