What the freak is that big-eyed tree squirrel?

This is the Sunda colugo.

The first thing you might notice are its big eyes that appear to be perpetually falling out of its skull. They give the impression that these colugos are constantly amazed by the gift of sight.

Those eyes are much the reason these animals are confused with lemurs. They’re literally called “Sunda flying lemurs.” 

Except they’re not lemurs.

And they can’t fly.

Sunda colugo can glide over 100m while losing less than 10m in elevation. They have a fold of skin that runs from their head to the tips of their fingers, and down to their tail.

Extending their arms and legs gives them lots of surface area to work with. Just like my grandmother, except she can’t fly.

But my grandmother CAN probably beat the world’s fastest Sunda coluga in a footrace. These big-eyed non-lemurs are absolutely hopeless on the ground.