Flying lemur rescued from Tg Bungah apartment

GEORGE TOWN: An adult Sunda flying lemur hanging from a chair has been rescued after residents were shocked to find it dangling in the hallway of their block of flats.

The animal, better known as a kubong, was found clinging to the base of a folding chair in an apartment in Tanjung Bungah.

Civil Defense Penang Public Relations and Records Officer (APM) Lieutenant Mohammad Fakhrullah Ali said they received a call from a local resident at around 9pm on Tuesday (Nov 5).

“They called us and said there was an animal hanging from a chair.

“We sent four officers who managed to catch him within five minutes.

“We think it was a wild lemur because it didn’t look domesticated,” he said.

He said that in size it was an adult, but the sex could not be determined.

“He seemed healthy but was aggressive.

“We rarely see them and this one may have wandered in from the forest,” he said.

Mohammad Fakhrullah said this is the second time a flying lemur has been spotted at an apartment in Tanjung Bung.

“Last year (2023) there was also a message and we had to save it.

“I think sometimes they wander too far and get into residential areas,” he said.

Mohammad Fakhrullah said the flying lemur was handed over to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks.

The Sunda flying lemur (Galeopterus variegatus), also called the Malayan flying lemur, is native to Southeast Asia.

Despite its name, it cannot fly, only glides among trees and leads an exclusively arboreal lifestyle.

The forest-dependent mammal is active at night and feeds on soft parts of plants such as young leaves, shoots, flowers and fruits.