THE RESCUE OF A MUM AND BABY COLUGO

PART 1: THE DISCOVERY – A FRAGILE ENCOUNTER AT DATAI BAY

The Colugo Chronicles | Field Notes by Sri Sari

The story began with an urgent report from the staff at The Datai Langkawi. In the heart of this ancient rainforest resort, a peculiar shape had been spotted on a tree trunk. What initially looked like a patch of weathered bark turned out to be a Sunda Flying Lemur (Colugo), clinging motionless in the broad daylight.

As we focused our binoculars, the situation became more complex. Tucked safely within the mother’s patagium (gliding membrane) was a tiny, furry face—a newborn baby. Seeing these nocturnal masters during the day is rare, but seeing a mother and her young in such a vulnerable position was a sign that something was about to change.

MASTERS OF INVISIBILITY

The Colugo is the ghost of Langkawi’s rainforest. Their mottled fur is a masterpiece of evolution, mimicking lichens and mosses so perfectly that they are nearly invisible to the untrained eye. On this day, the mother remained deathly still, acting as a living shield for her infant. It was a poignant display of maternal instinct in the face of the unknown.

A TURNING POINT

While we initially hoped to just observe and leave them to nature, it soon became clear that this pair would need more than just distant monitoring. This encounter at Datai Bay was only the beginning of a long journey of survival, human intervention, and the hope for an eventual return to the canopy.

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EXPERIENCE THE RAINFOREST AT NIGHT

The Colugo is best seen when the forest wakes up after sunset. Join our naturalists to witness these incredible gliders in their natural habitat: