Mo Ganji: Namdapha Flying Squirrel | Namdapha-Flughörnchen | Biswamoyopterus biswasi | No. 137/250 from work group 8/99

Mo Ganji’s single line engages the Namdapha flying squirrel — a large arboreal rodent adapted to nocturnal life in dense tropical forests — by allowing the being’s inner coherence to surface without emphasis on motion, rarity or spectacle. The continuous line gathers a condensed core of presence, enough to suggest life while remaining open to meanings beyond the category of “squirrel.” In this quiet exposure of essence, form appears before behavior or elusiveness defines it.

Biswamoyopterus biswasi is listed as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List and is among the least-known mammals in the world. Endemic to the eastern Himalayas of northeastern India, the species was known for decades from a single specimen collected in Namdapha National Park. Only a handful of unconfirmed observations have been reported since, leaving its population size and precise distribution highly uncertain.

The principal threats include habitat loss and degradation from deforestation, shifting cultivation, and infrastructure development within and around its limited range. As a forest-dependent species likely requiring large, continuous canopies, fragmentation poses a severe risk. The lack of ecological data further complicates conservation planning and protection.

Ganji’s single line opens a space in which the squirrel can be encountered beyond certainty or documentation. It invites attention to a presence that exists largely at the edge of human knowledge, quietly reminding us that many lives persist beyond our maps and measurements — and that the assumption of standing apart from nature often blinds us to the fragile continuities unfolding just beyond our awareness.