There's a special joy in spotting an animal with its young in the wild.

On a visit to Ulu Sembawang Park Connector on Jun. 29, nature photographer hobbyist Daniel Neo made one such sighting.

"Cuteness overload"

Pointing his camera up into the trees, he took these shots of a baby colugo hanging out with its mum:

Under the sunlight, the high-resolution photos managed to capture the fine details of the pair's features, including the texture of their light brown fur.

Tucked snugly in its mother's pouch, the baby seemed to be looking around curiously:

What an endearing sight.

Tree-dwelling mammals

Malayan colugos are solitary, tree-dwelling mammals that feed on leaves, leaf shoots and flower buds.

If their huge eyes didn't give it away, these native animals are nocturnal.

Colugos are experts at gliding from tree to tree, and are capable of travelling up to 70m without losing much altitude.

This is thanks to a specially adapted fur-covered membrane which connects their face, paws, and tail.

Their young clings to their mothers' belly and often poke their heads out while roosting.

While most might find them similar to squirrels, their closest evolutionary relatives are actually primates.

Colugos in Singapore

Although they might be difficult to spot to the untrained eye, colugos are quite common in Singapore.

In fact, these shy creatures sometimes find their way into our urban spaces by accident.

Despite being adept climbers, they are quite helpless on the ground and may require a helping hand to return to the natural environment.

More wholesome wildlife babies

All media courtesy of Daniel Neo.