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Colugos

Behavior



Colugos have never lived more than a few months in captivity; thus, there is only limited knowledge of their behavior. One fact that is known is that they are strict vegetarians. Specifically, they feed on shoots, fruit, buds, young seed pods, and flowers from multiple kinds of forest trees. They pull the vegetation out of trees using their very powerful tongues. Colugos get their water by licking it from leaves and tree hollows.



Colugos are nocturnal; when the sun goes down, they move quickly, skirting the underside of branches. To get the height they need to glide from tree to tree, they scramble up tree trunks with few powerful jumping motions. According to observation, colugos often reuse their routes when traveling from location to location. In the Philippines, the inhabitants seize on the easy hunting that this behavior presents; Philippine locals often wait on known colugo paths with weapons or traps ready.

During the daytime, colugos rest, hanging from the undersides of branches, in tree hollows, or in the shade of palm stalks using all four of their feet. Hanging in such a way makes colugos hard to see. Their brownish coloring helps to camouflage them further in the shady rain forest.


Additional topics

Science EncyclopediaScience & Philosophy: Cluster compound to ConcupiscenceColugos - Characteristics, Flightskin, Behavior, Reproduction, Threats To Colugos