Clinging Colugos

I watched a program on National Geographic last night and saw an animal I'd never heard of before.  The program was on gliding animals, focusing mainly on reptiles.  But there was information on one mammal - the colugo. 

Source: ecologyasia.com

It looks like maybe a flying squirrel or bat.  Looking it up, I found articles calling it the flying lemur, but it doesn't actually fly and it's not a lemur, even though it is now believed to be closely related.  The colugo is not found in Madagascar like true lemurs, but in the rain forests of Malaysia and southeast Asia, with a second species living in the Philippines.

Source: conservationmagazine.org

Colugos are nocturnal and spend daylight hours clinging to a tree trunk.  They are gray or gray-green camouflaged to blend in with the bark.  However, they sleep with their eyes open watching for predators.  Once darkness arrives, using the membrane between their limbs, they glide up to 400 feet from tree to tree looking for food.  They eat mostly leaves, young shoots, flowers and sap.

Source:  ecologyasia.com

They have sharp claws for climbing but not opposable thumbs.  Their incisors have up to twenty tines on them although the purpose of the tines has yet to be discovered.  There is a lot left to learn about these unusual creatures as it hasn't been well studied.  I was so glad I caught the show and wanted to share it with you.