Creature Feature #4: Big toothed purple stuff

You people have GOT to stop arriving at ties on these polls

Jan 30, 2025

Listen. Just because I have written about 2 animals several times does not mean that I will sustain this HIGH SPEED content.

But for this week I’m talking about 3 animals; don’t @ me. There was a tie in the votes between Large Toothed and Purple from last week. I actually have an animal that kind-of sort-of matches both of those, so we’re going to start with the colorful and silly-faced Malabar Giant Squirrel (scientific name ratufa indica, which is just fun to say):

A large and brightly colored squirrel draped over a branch with something grasped between its front paws. The coloration is a creamy white around the face, orange hued paws, and a rich burgandy/violet/brown color from shoulders to the midtail, where the fur begins to turn into an orange and cream shade. The tail is VERY long.

(image by Yathin S Krishnappa - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0)

They come in a variety of colors, but I’m partial to this purple shade. And it lives up to the “giant” part of the name by growing up to 3 feet long and weighing as much as 4 pounds. Plus, they stash their squirrel snacks up in the tops of trees instead of burying them like most other squirrels. Just look at these bright buddies:

Two squirrles cling to a tree, one facing downward, the other facing upward. They're colored in strips of cream, blueish-black, and dark violet purple.

Like most rodents, they have “prominent incisors” but I didn’t find a great photo of that so you’ll just have to trust me about the large teeth. Instead, I found this RIDICULOUS picture which I must share:

A squirrel sits in a tree looking at the camera with its little fluffy ears stuck out from its head like they've been badly aligned. Its eyes are also slightly bugged out, and the long whiskers around its nose and mouth are kind of droopy. Combined with a slightly downturned mouth it has the appearance of a gloomy stuffed animal made by someone who has only ever heard about squirrels second hand.

That squirrel is like the kid who showed up for picture day and forgot to comb their hair. Fantastic! What a dork!

Next is an extra large-toothed creature! (Okay that’s techically a lie. It’s a large-tusked creature. I am taking a liberty because it is fun to look at.) The Asian Water Deer, sometimes called the Chinese or Korean Water Deer, my beloved:

(I CANNOT find a source for this delightful picture. It’s been on the internet for at least 11 years, as this blogspot post from February of 2014 is the oldest instance I can find. It’s highly unlikely that post is the original source, but it’s the best I’ve got. Sorry, photographer! The internet is a recursive pit of image sharing sites and none of them credited you!)

This creature looks like a stuffed animal with fangs. Though as previously stated, they aren’t fangs, they’re tusks, but wait who cares because just look at these babies:

A very small fawn gazes up toward the camera. It has extra fluffy fur inside its ears, a small black nose, and pale spots on its fur. It is IMPOSSIBLY cute. There are no fangs in sight.

D’awwwww! Anyway, your fact: They use the tusks for tussling, much like antlered deer do with their antlers. And they’re an invasive species in the UK because some of them escaped from zoos/preserves in, like, the 1800s-ish. They are NOT an invasive species in Northern Ireland, which provided me this lovely fact sheet to identify your local water deer:

A graphic with three photos of water deer titled "Key ID Features" that has text describing the animals' features. Please let me know if you'd like a more detailed image description!

Indistinct rumps and beady eyes? The Northern Ireland Environment Agency is a bit harsh, I think. But then I saw this picture and, well, it’s not the MOST dignified of deer:

And our third creature for the day is a very pretty and very purple bird! The Splendid Sunbird is a very accurately named petite birb:

An iridescent and multicolored bird perches on a twig. It has a black hooked bill, black claws, and a range of colors from deepest violet to shiny blue and black.

So shiny! Much purple! A bit bigger than hummingbirds, they mostly consume nectar, and some bugs. And they’re sexually dimorphic, with the female birds showing off more subdued olive colors. Plus the babies are just grey! Look at this little guy:

A fluffy round bird perches on a twig. It's medium grey on top fading to a cream and grey on its underside. It also has an expression that on a human would be considered a pout.

He looks grouchy. Anyhoo, adults do come in a range of iridescent shades, but purple is usually prominent. There are also a whole delightful host of other sunbirds out there if you like this one! But for the Splendid purposes, this button will show you a multi-colored bird (yes, I am including it because I need you to know oiseaux.net exists):

Oiseaux dot Net

Anyway, there are your three creatures of the day. Purple and toothed, toothed, and then purple. Wait, here’s one more purple:

And since it was a squirrel sort of post, please have this great squirrel meme to improve your week:

A photo of a squirrel up on its hind legs in the snow with its toes splayed out and a silly expression on its face. Top text says: Look at me! I'm a human! Stay away from my birdfeeder! Bottom text says: You're eating all the birdseed! Blah blah blah!

PS. Stay tuned for next week when I’ll talk about the NUMBAT. A truly great creature. Exciting!

Sources:

Smithsonian Magazine - Giant Technicolor Squirrels
Fodor’s Travel - How to see Those Viral Squirrels
Snopes - Is the Malabar Giant Squirrel a Real Animal? (I didn’t actually use this, I just liked that it exists. Also there are more cute pics at this link, FYI.)
Northern Ireland Environment Agency - Invasive Species
Whipsnade Zoo - “Vampire” deer
Critter Facts - Chinese Water Deer (is this a reputable source? Unlikely. Did it have the best/worst photo ever? Yes.)
London Zoo - Splendid Sunbirds
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance - Chick Successfully Reared
Zoo-Guide - Splendid Sunbirds

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