A small face peering from a tree hollow can stop you halfway through a page. These flying-squirrel portraits have that effect: dark eyes, tiny paws and soft fur stand out against rough bark. The closer photographs make the animal look almost pocket-sized, while the wider tree-trunk views return it to a forest setting. Both perspectives are part of the gallery's appeal.
The Japanese flying squirrel and its name
The collection originally circulated under the name Momonga, or Japanese flying squirrel. Pteromys momonga is a recognised species native to Japan's Honshu and Kyushu islands, as recorded by the American Society of Mammalogists' Mammal Diversity Database. That is useful background to the name, though the gallery does not supply the location and identification records needed to confirm the species of every photographed animal. [1]
How a flying squirrel glides
Flying squirrels travel through the air by gliding. In the Japanese species, a membrane extends between the wrists and ankles; spreading the limbs creates the surface used during a glide. These photographs instead catch quieter moments on trunks and at a hollow. A tucked-up resting squirrel can therefore look quite different from the broad silhouette associated with the animal's airborne movement. [2]
Explore more: red-panda portraits with conservation context; the trees that provide a forest setting.
A small forest mammal's daily life
For Pteromys momonga, Animal Diversity Web reports a head-and-body length of roughly 12–23 centimetres, with a tail around 11–13 centimetres long. Its account describes nocturnal activity, daytime shelter in nests or tree holes, and foods including nuts, seeds, buds, bark and fruit, with insects considered a possible addition. Moss and lichen feature in the nesting material. These are species notes, rather than measurements or observations made from this particular gallery. [3]
Look beyond the face
Take a second look at the tree hollow as well as the face inside it. Its dark opening provides a natural frame, while the surrounding bark gives the portrait texture and scale. In the trunk photographs, follow the paws and the outline of the body against the wood. Those details reward a slower look without needing to turn the animal into a pet or invent a story about what it is thinking.
Sources, photography and further reading
Original feature and image attributions:
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