Pithoragarh, May 18 -- In a rare wildlife sighting, a flying squirrel called the Red Giant Flying Squirrel (Petaurista petaurista), was spotted and photographed by a Wings Foundation team in the Chandak hills area of Pithoragarh district early on Sunday morning. According to Jagdish Bhatt, Director of Wings Foundation, the sighting occurred when team member Anil Mahra was cycling near Chera village. He noticed a flying squirrel resting on an oak tree, which was also being closely followed by a group of monkeys. Bhatt said that although the Chandak region, like other parts of the Himalayan belt, is a natural habitat for flying squirrels, this is believed to be the first photographic record of the species from this specific area of Chandak. Jyoti Prakash Singh, research associate at Forest Wing of Uttarakhand Forest department said four species of flying squirrels are found in the state including Red Giant Flying Squirrel (Petaurista petaurista), Giant Flying Squirrel (Petaurista philippensis), Kashmir Flying Squirrel (Eoglaucomys fimbriatus) and Woolly Flying Squirrel (Eupetaurus cinereus). "The species sighted on Sunday in Pithoragarh is Red Giant Flying Squirrel (Petaurista petaurista). They are nocturnal gliding mammals, found mainly in dry deciduous and evergreen forests. In Uttarakhand Giant Flying Squirrels have been reported from Dharchula, Ranikhet and Devalsari areas so far. In 2018, experts from Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII) had documented the first ever presence of woolly flying squirrel (Eupetaurus cinereus) in Uttarakhand's Bhagirathi Basin, which was believed to have become extinct until its rediscovery in Pakistan's Sai Valley in 1994", he said. Flying squirrels are nocturnal mammals known for their ability to glide between trees using a membrane of skin called a patagium. They cannot fly in the true sense but are capable of gliding distances of around 50 to 60 metres from one tree to another. In 2019, Uttarakhand forest department had approved a five-year research project to study flying squirrels, their habitat, distribution, threats faced by them in the Himalayan state and what conservations strategies that need to be adopted for their conservation and protection. Singh said 43 species of flying squirrels are found across the world, of which 11 have been reported from India. Giant Flying Squirrel is included in the Schedule II of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. It is currently listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as a species of least concern due to its widespread distribution in Asia and South East Asia, but IUCN also states that its population trend is on decline . Chandak Mountain, located about 7,100 feet above sea level near the district headquarters of Pithoragarh, is known for its dense traditional oak forests and rich biodiversity. Emphasising the ecological importance of oak forests, Bhatt said that if the density and diversity of these traditional forests are preserved, the region could continue to support a richer variety of species....