Rare and Elusive Himalayan Flying Squirrel

Once in a life time sighting of rare Himalayan flying squirrel. I was ready with Nikon D4s, settings @ ISO 32250, shutter speed 1/250s to avoid any shake, aperture was full open, latest FL ED 300 MM Nikon lens at full aperture and high beam torch, and was lucky to record the Hodgson's giant flying squirrel sighting, one of the most elusive nocturnal animals.

The event unfolded like this, after dinner was enjoying chitchatting with my friend, it was about 10.30 pm, slight drizzling, when the silence of the night was broken by the booming calls, confirming emergence of one of the most elusive flying rodent from its daytime hiding place in the forest canopy. My close friend Ajay campus officer / vice principal of Sherwood college Nainital and I came out with our torch and camera. On flashing the torch on the tree top from where the booming sound was coming saw the squirrel gliding down from the treetops to one of the branches to feed on the fresh young leaves. Kept my hand steady and the work horse camera from Nikon did not miss the opportunity. Due to high ISO the image does have some background noise. I took some 40 images, in that about 7 or 8 did come out well

This is extremely rarest of rare sighting, I can see the heavy noise due to ISO 32250. But sighting itself is treat to eyes , image quality is secondary in such cases.
TFS

Beautiful.Indeed a very rare sighting.It is indeed wonderful that you could capture this image inspite of such adverse circumstances and bring it to us.Thanks for sharing.

Amazing sighting. Good you could sight and photograph it. Nice eye contact. How long was the sighting? Thanks for sharing.

Agree with Vipin! It is important to first document the species. No amount of descriptions will help in shaping the imagination the way a single image does. In our earlier years, we used to see hand sketches. With the advent of cameras with high ISOs, we can now atleast get a shot or two. Where did you click it? Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi