Colugo at MacRitchie Reservoir

Went to MacRitchie Reservoir on a recce trip with LK and SY, and we're really lucky to have spotted a very pretty colugo!

I could still remember when we were making a turn into the forest path, there were lots of tall trees. And I was saying, "This looks like the type of place that we can find a... COLUGO!!!"



And YES! There it was, back facing us. I've seen colugos several times in Singapore forests, but cooincidentally, both the times when I had my camera with me and it was near enough to take a photo, the colugo had brown fur instead of the more commonly seen ones with greyish fur.



Here's another look at the colugo from the side.

The colugo we have in Singapore is known as the Malayan colugo (Cynocephalus variegatus). They are also called flying lemurs, which is actually quite an inappropriate name, because firstly, they don't fly but glide, and secondly, they're not true lemurs. True lemurs are only found in Madagascar (those that go "I like to move it move it" in the animated feature "Madagascar").

A colugos has membranes connecting its legs and tail, which allow it to glide from tree to tree.

According to the Wildlife Singapore Website, there're about 1,500 colugos in Singapore. They are mostly nocturnal, and thus are more commonly seen at night.

Hmm... Now that I managed to get a decent shot of a colugo, will I get to see a pangolin the next time I visit our forest? :P