Giant Squirrel with unusually dark face

[Aditya Panda]

Saw this beauty while on my way back from Chahala, Similipal Tiger Reserve, after the recent carnage that was unleashed by extremists in the park. I've never seen such a specimen of Giant Squirrel before, with this sort of a dark face. Has anyone here ever seen such a Giant Squirrel? Please let me know.

PENTAX K 10D
PENTAX DA* 300mmF4 ED(IF) SDM
Av Mode
ISO 100
Tv: 1/100 sec
Av: f/7.1
Ev: -0.3

Cheers,
Aditya

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Aditya,
Lighting was tough. There are bright areas bordering on being totally burnt and dark areas. However, I think the face looks dark. Do you have any other image of this one? Is this a crop or full frame?

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Aditya Panda]

Yes, lighting was very bad. This is a tight crop and is the only image. Viewed closely, it looks unlikely that the darkness of the face could be simply because of a shadow.

Cheers,
Aditya