Colugo, Colugo, Colugos!

Earlier this afternoon, I went to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve for a walk. I was looking high and low for colugos at the usual palm tree, but somehow they were not there. I eventually gave up and decided to head back home. But on my way out of the reserve, I happened to pass by the artificial hornbill nest created by Nparks, and decided to take a look if it has attracted any hornbills. And as I looked up, this was what I saw.


It was a Malayan Colugo (Cynocephalus variegatus), right on a tree next to the artificial nest! Colugos are usually more active at night and rest in the day, usually high up on trees.


I walked around the tree to get a few shots of it sideways. The colugo is also called "flying lemur" by some people, though it is actually not closely related to the true lemurs found on Madagascar.


It also does not fly, though it can glide for long distances from tree to tree, as it has a thin membrane between its limbs and tail. As I was taking photos of it, it was rather cooperative, and slowly turned its head...


...until I had a nice shot with both eyes! This cute animal is said to feed on leaves, young shoots and flower buds.


And then suddenly, a little head popped out below its armpit. It's a baby colugo! So it's a mama colugo with her baby! The baby apparently clings to the mama's flight membrane when the latter glides from tree to tree at night.


Eric, the Nparks officer, later told me there was another one nearby. This was a young adult. It was suggested that there could be about 1500 colugos in Singapore.


As the sun slowly sets, it started moving around the tree trunk to get away from direct sunlight. When sensing our presence, it looked down at us. Our presence did not seem to cause much alarm though, as it just stared at us for a while then turned its heard up again.


Here's another shot of it taken from the second level of the visitor centre.

Today was certainly my lucky day! :)