Sunda Flying Lemur

The Sunda flying lemur is a skilled climber but is nearly helpless when on the ground. Its gliding membrane connects the neck, extending along the limbs to the tips of the fingers, toes, and nails. This kite-shaped skin is known as a patagium, which is expanded for gliding. It can glide over a distance of 100 m with a loss of less than 10 m in elevation. It has a dorsiflexed and abducted foot while having an abducted clawed grasp. This technique helps to climb trees easier and faster while looking for food or staying away from predators.

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 hind legs measure between 6.5 and 7.3 cm (2.6 and 2.9 in) long. It weighs 0.9 to 1.3 kg (2.0 to 2.9 lb).

The Sunda flying lemur is not only not a lemur, but it is also incapable of flying. Instead, it glides and leaps among the trees. It only inhabits trees, is active at night, and eats soft plant materials like shoots, fruits, flowers, and fresh leaves.

There is no reliable scientific proof that Sunda flying lemurs regularly use water or swim. Their long limbs, patagium, and webbed or clawed feet are features that are specific to arboreal gliding and climbing rather than aquatic adaptation. It's safe to assume that swimming is not one of their skills given their exclusively arboreal existence and lack of reference in reliable sources.

The Sunda flying lemur is most active at night and consumes delicate plant parts such as young leaves, shoots, flowers, and fruits. This species is forest-dependent. They are able to both brush their fur and scrape soft plant material (young leaves, sap) because to their unusual comb-like lower incisors. Colugos are canopy-dwelling folivores and frugivores that probably contribute to forest ecosystem by dispersing seeds and possibly pollinating flowers and buds.

Tigers, leopards, cloud leopards, eagles, crocodiles, pythons, dholes, feral dogs, and owls are the primary predators of this species.

Reproduction

• Information on their reproduction is limited but what is known suggests low reproductive rate. Females typically give birth to a single young (or very occasionally two) — but only one at a time.

• The newborn is highly altricial (i.e., underdeveloped, requiring much care). The mother uses the patagium to envelop and protect her offspring, even while gliding.

• Because of slow reproduction and small litter size, population recovery could be slow if numbers decline.

These colugos are highly arboreal and nocturnal. They spend daylight hours clinging motionless to tree trunks or branches, relying on camouflage to avoid detection. Colugos extend their front legs upward first, then bring their hind legs—giving a somewhat awkward, “hopping” climbing movement. On the ground, they are nearly helpless and vulnerable. The Sunda colugo is generally solitary, though their home ranges may overlap; they may have loose social tolerance but are not strongly social or forming tight groups.

These colugos are rarely seen by most people. During the day, they cling still and mix in with the bark, making them difficult to see. By nature, Sunda colugos are not hostile. Their usual response to danger is to either freeze or climb higher. They avoid ground travel as much as possible because they are arboreal and dependent on forests, making them extremely vulnerable on the ground. Crossing open regions or the ground exposes them to predators or danger. Unlike pets, there is scant evidence of amicable interactions between humans and Sunda flying lemurs. They are shy, solitary, nocturnal, and wild animals.

They are neither "friendly" nor receptive to domestication as pets, according to any reliable scientific source I could find. They are not appropriate as pets due to their biology, which includes specialization for trees, gliding, a specific food, and low reproduction.

Threats

• Deforestation and habitat loss or fragmentation — removal of tall trees, clearing of rainforests, conversion to agriculture or plantations destroys canopy connectivity vital for their gliding and continued survival. 

• Hunting / human exploitation: in some areas, local people hunt them for meat or fur, or because they are considered pests (e.g. when they eat fruit crops), despite protections.

• Pet trade, though uncommon, still occurs.

Conservation Status

• IUCN Red List: Least Concern (LC)

Conservation Efforts

Because they rely on canopy connectivity, forest fragmentation is especially problematic — even if some trees remain, if the canopy is broken, their gliding routes are disrupted, reducing foraging success and isolating populations. 

Conservation measures: some countries in their range protect them under national legislation; but continued public awareness, habitat protection / restoration, and reducing hunting pressure are essential for long-term survival.

• Forest protection.

• Habitat corridors.

• Public awareness to reduce hunting and misconceptions.

• Anti-poaching enforcement.

• Rescue and rehabilitation centers.

• Awareness campaigns against illegal pet trade.

From the Sunda Shelf mainland to other islands, including northern Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia (Peninsular, Sabah, and Sarawak), Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia (Kalimantan, Sumatra, Bali, Java), and numerous neighboring islands, the Sunda flying lemur is widely distributed throughout Southeast Asia.

Though not all of these habitats can support sizable colugo populations, the Sunda flying lemur is adapted to a wide range of vegetation types, including gardens, primary and secondary forests, rubber and coconut plantations, fruit orchards (dusun), mangrove swamps, lowlands and upland forests, tree plantations, lowland dipterocarp forests, and mountainous areas.

During The Recollections of Queen Arianna (TROQA) saga in the 2600s and 2700s, the "Sky People," or Terrans from Earth, brought the Sunda colugo to two exoplanets that resembled Earth: Reinachos from Cygnus and Berbania from Ursa Major. Despite the death of our planet, conservation efforts are helping this species recover from endangerment or near extinction. The colugo became an invasive species as a result of human interactions for game hunting and rewilding. In two exoplanets that resembled Earth, the Sunda colugo lived in conditions and climates identical to those of Earth.

• Movement Pattern: Random

• Individual Type: Nomadic

• Population Trend: Increasing

• Population: ???

• Locomotion: Amphibious

• Habitat: Montane Grasslands and Shrublands; Temperate Coniferous Forests; Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests; Temperate Deciduous Forests, Temperate Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Subtropical Coniferous Forests; Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Stone Forest; Tropical Coniferous Forests; Tropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Grasslands; Tropical Savannas and Shrublands; Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub; Mushroom Forests; Mushroom Fields; Deserts and Xeric Shrublands; Badlands; Flooded Grasslands and Savannas; Swamp; Bayous/Billabongs; Riparian; Wetland; Mangrove Forest; Cold Bamboo Forests; Tropical Bamboo Forests.

• Earth: 

  • Extant (Resident): Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; Indonesia; Laos; Malaysia; Myanmar; Singapore; Thailand; Vietnam

• Berbania: worldwide

• Reinachos: worldwide

• Delphia: worldwide

Colugos like cheese, fruit, or seeds to feed three or four times until yours.

Coming soon.

• See also: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1KNhCKcwF2DH4TcbsIWlXiHLOoWUp5pmr

• Tagalog: Kagwang ng Sunda, Kagwang ng Malaysia

• Cebuano: Kagwang sa Sunda

• Ibanag: Kagwang Sunda

• Ilocano: Kagwang ti Sunda

• Indonesian: Kubung Sunda

• Thai: บ่าง (baang)

• Basque: Kolugo Sunda

• Navajo: Kéyah Dah Ndaaʼeełí Łánídę́ę́ʼ naalkʼįhiitsoh

• Northern Sami: Kaguán Malaysia

• Finnish: Täpläkaguaani

• Breton: Kolougo Malaysia, Kolougo Sunda

• French: Galéopithèque volant, Colugo de Sunda

• Spanish: Lémur volador de Sunda, galeopiteco, galeopiteco de Sunda, kaguang de Sunda, colugo de Sunda, caguan de Sunda

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• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunda_flying_lemur

• https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/41502/10479343

• https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Galeopterus_variegates/

• https://www.ecotenet.org/species/Galeopterus_variegatus

• https://www.rekoforest.org/field-stories/wildlife-of-rer-sunda-flying-lemur/

• https://www.thainationalparks.com/species/sunda-flying-lemur

• https://a-z-animals.com/animals/flying-lemur/

• https://www.goodnewsfromindonesia.id/2022/01/31/mengenal-keunikan-kubung-sunda-yang-hanya-memiki-dua-spesies-di-dunia

• https://www.deviantart.com/ognimdo2002/art/Sunda-Flying-Lemur-1003646762