A Civil Defence officer approaching the Sunda flying lemur clining to the bottom of a folding chair.
GEORGE TOWN: Dangling to a chair, an adult Sunda flying lemur was rescued after residents were shocked to find it hanging out at their apartment block foyer.
Better known as a “kubong,” the animal was found clinging to the base of a folding chair at an apartment in Tanjung Bungah here.
The Penang Civil Defence (APM) public relations and documentation unit officer Lt Mohammad Fakhrullah Ali said they received a call from a resident at around 9pm on Tuesday (Nov 5).
"We received a call that there was an animal dangling from a chair.
"We sent four personnel who managed to catch it within five minutes.
"We believe it was a wild lemur as it did not seem domesticated," he said.
He shared that based on its size, it is an adult but they could not determine the gender.
"It seemed healthy but was aggressive.
"It is rare that we come across them and this one might have wandered off from the forest," he said.
Mohammad Fakhrullah said this is the second time the Tanjung Bungah apartment had come across a flying lemur.
"Last year (2023), there was a report as well and we had to go rescue it.
"I believe they sometimes wander too far and enter residential areas," he said.
Mohammad Fakhrullah said the flying lemur has been handed over to the Wildlife and National Parks Department.
The Sunda flying lemur (Galeopterus variegatus), also called the Malayan flying lemur, is native to South-East Asia.
Despite its name, it is unable to fly and only glides among trees and is strictly arboreal.
The forest-dependent mammal is active at night and feeds on soft plant parts such as young leaves, shoots, flowers and fruits.
