‘Lost’ nocturnal creature seen flying outside homes in Singapore. See rare sighting
A “lost” creature soared through the dimly lit street in Singapore. It landed skillfully on a slim tree trunk and scampered into the night — seemingly unaware that its rare visit had been captured on video.
Kinho Tang and his kids were visiting family at an apartment building near the Bukit Batok Nature Park when they spotted the animal, Tang said in a June 20 Facebook post.
The animal was identified as a Sunda colugo, also known as a Sunda flying lemur, The Independent, a Singaporean outlet, reported.
Video shows the Sunda colugo launch itself off a tall, skinny tree and glide in front of the homes. With its body stretched out in flight, it appears to have a square shape. The colugo smoothly lands on another tree and quickly climbs upward.
“We were very excited to see it glide!” he said.
The video zooms in on the colugo as it hangs from the tree and scans the area. The animal begins climbing again as the video ends.
“The Sunda flying lemur is not a lemur and does not fly,” according to Thai National Parks. Instead, the animal is a colugo, a type of mammal known for its gliding abilities.
Sunda colugos have a “skin membrane” stretching from their head to tail and outward to their fingers, according to Singapore National Parks. This membrane enables colugos to smoothly glide between trees in the forested areas they inhabit.
In Singapore, colugos are known to live in Bukit Batok Nature Park, and their range is typically restricted to this park, wildlife officials said.
“Singapore’s urban environment makes it an unlikely habitat for this species, making sightings of the Sunda Colugo exceedingly rare,” The Independent reported.
Tang commented that the colugo might have “lost its way” because of construction outside the park.
“Some were worried that the animals are losing their natural habitat,” the Singaporean outlet Must Share News reported, sharing the video on TikTok and YouTube.
Tang did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment.
Singapore is an Asian island country composed of one city-state. It is located south of Malaysia and northwest of Indonesia.
This story was originally published June 29, 2023 at 1:54 PM with the headline "‘Lost’ nocturnal creature seen flying outside homes in Singapore. See rare sighting."
