Croatia Fisherman Saw Unusual Creature: Fact Check

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A Croatia Fisherman Saw Unusual Creature!

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A fisherman from Croatia was more than surprised when he rode near the Drave river and saw this unusual creature.

Fact Check:

A popular message in circulation online claims that a Croatia Fisherman Saw Unusual Creature. It comes with a picture showing a man holding in hand the strange tender creature with flaps of skin. Yes, the incident is a fact, the unusual creature is real and was not identified initially.

How the Croatia Fisherman Saw Unusual Creature

Robert Markovčić, the fisherman from Croatia saw the strange creature near Drave river in July 2017 and was more than surprised at it. He shared the picture on his Facebook profile saying the unusual creature was found near Drave river in Croatia, questioning what it is. The picture circulated widely on social media then and it keeps surfacing again online in various places including image sharing websites. Some viewers thought the ‘creature’ in picture is actually a Taxidermy doll, but it isn’t one. Since the creature was not identified initially, some went on to call it an extraterrestrial/alien creature.

Gliding Mammal Colugo

The picture does not show any alien creature or taxidermy doll, it is in fact a gliding mammal called Colugo. Colugos have flaps of extra-large skin between their legs, which transforms its body into a flat parachute. As a result, they can glide along really well from higher to lower locations. They also have huge eyes giving them good night vision. Due to their resemblance to Lemurs, Colugos are also called Flying Lemurs (they are not lemurs). Notably, the adorable mammals Colugos are closely related to primates. Below is a National Geographic video showing the gliding of a Colugo:

Colugos are little-known because they tend to live in isolated habitats and emerge only at night. What you see in the featured picture is probably a young Colugo that may not have survived for some reason. Young ones of Colugos are usually highly underdeveloped. Like shown in picture below, mother Colugos carry their young ones for some time until they develop.