The eyes of the baby cuscus
ENDoes Shrek's cat move you? Do you have a crush on the wet-eyed baby seals? This cute little couscous from Indonesia should make you melt.
They've really got a thing, all of them. Something with the eyes, right?... 😂
What is this, a couscous?
Yes, it's a strange name. But nothing to do with semolina and Moroccan cuisine, eh? I'm talking about the other couscous, the animal one (which is also written kuskus or couscous). The Wikipedia page herewill enlighten you on this exotic creature.
It is not a monkey or a squirrel, or even a cousin of the tarsier of Sulawesi. It belongs to the family of marsupials like the koala and the kangaroo (and the famous Marsupilami).
I had already seen big ones but from a little distance, hidden in the trees, in Raja Ampatin Indonesia last year. Adults, red and spotted, rather ugly.
During this new Indonesian trip of March 2013, on the island of HalmaheraI was able to see up close a very young and cute specimen. Abandoned or fallen from the nest, he was taken in by Adrian, the little boy of the owners of the Weda Resort.
Adrian and his father brought the baby cuscus to the resort's restaurant to show it to us, in the manner of marsupials who keep their young in a pouch: huddled on his belly, under his shirt.
They also made a nest for it in a cardboard box, until it could be released into the jungle surrounding the Weda Resort.
The star of the evening
This adorable ball of fur, with its small pointed muzzle, its round ears and its big worried eyes, moves everyone at mealtime.
We take all photos of the bug, without putting the flash, to avoid frightening it too much. It is the star of the evening!
It is really a strange animal. The hair is soft, the little hands clawed, the tail strange... Long, without hair at the end, pink, it rolls up and allows the animal to cling to the branches of trees.
We offer fruits to the little couscous, which gets bolder little by little, and ends up parading on the table once full...
What a look!
I admit, I too can be touched by the baby seals and I love Shrek's cat. But the baby couscous, who peels his fruit with delicacy, watching me from the corner of his eye, has a much greater effect on me!
😉
How miiignooonnn. Almost as cute as a cat.
When will we see the lolcouscous? 😉
Cute, huh? 😀
You who love cats, baby seals and ponies, I knew you would not be indifferent to the touching charm of baby couscous ...
😆
I love that bulging look... Charming, sexy, attractive.
Reminds me of someone.
@Marie: I think I know who you're referring to... 😡
First of all, couscous makes me hungry because it conjures up images of a hearty, filling dish, and since I'm greedy....
Your couscous, the little animal in the photo, maybe some Indonesian tribes eat it?
It's true that it's touching, a baby who really looks like a cuddly toy and whose two round balls have an effect on us nice humans.
Of course, the tip of his tail is less glamorous, but he's got to hold on to the branches.
If these little ones turn you on, you'll be well served in Madagascar, no marsupials but lemurs of all sizes and colors. I'd also seen tarsiers in the Philippines and they live in Sulawesi too, as you say in your post.
Reassure me you didn't bring it back in your wet dive bag to become your pet at home?!!!
Was he tall enough to return to independent wild life?
That was your tender, emotional sequence...
@Lisemet: um, "tenderness" sequence in the second degree, eh, anyway... The clawed hands and the hairless tail, it calms... 😀
I haven't had any news of the bug, so I hope it will live out its life as it should among trees and not humans.
😉
What a look, what a coat! Looks like a jelurian cousin, anyway. With a literal bom to crunch! Have you heard from the animal?
Uh ... Lemurian, I mean!
@Mélissa: 😆 I was already looking up "jélurien" on Google...
No, as I said above to Lisemet, I do not know what the ball of hair has become.
Hi Corinne,
I didn't know this animal which even in a photo is really touching! The name Couscous fits him like a glove 😉
@Haydée: yes, that's a great name for a great bug!!! 🙂
He is really too cute, we want to hug him and his big eyes!
@Piotr: I think it gets a lot less cute growing up... 🙄
Hi little one