Sunda Colugo – Did You Know…

… That a Sundo Colugo is a flying lemur? There are some pretty amazing and also strange creatures in this world and sometimes I wonder if the idea of Aliens out in space should be reconsidered and we all should have a closer look to what actually roams the planet with us.

But back to our Sundo Colugo friend:

The Sunda flying lemur (Galeopterus variegatus), also known as the Malayan flying lemur, Sunda Colugo or Malayan colugo, is a species of colugo. Until recently, it was thought to be one of only two species of flying lemur, the other being the Philippine flying lemur which is found only in the Philippines. The Sunda flying lemur is found throughout Southeast Asia in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.

The Sunda flying lemur is not a lemur and does not fly (wonder why they called him that in the first place… maybe because of a lack of words???). Instead, it glides as it leaps among trees. It is strictly arboreal, is active at night, and feeds on soft plant parts such as young leaves, shoots, flowers, and fruits. After a 60-day gestation period, a single offspring is carried on the mother’s abdomen held by a large skin membrane. It is a forest-dependent species.

The head-body length of the Sunda flying lemur is about 33 to 42 cm (13 to 17 in). Its tail length measures 18 to 27 cm (7.1 to 10.6 in), and its weight is 0.9 to 1.3 kg (2.0 to 2.9 lb).

The Sunda flying lemur is protected by national legislation. In addition to deforestation and loss of habitat, local subsistence hunting poses a serious threat to this animal. Competition with the plantain squirrel (Callosciurus notatus) represents another challenge for this species. More information is needed on population declines, but at present, the rate of the decline is not believed to merit listing in any category lower than “Least Concern”.