John Zou was sleeping in his London house when he was startled awake at 5 a.m. by the sound of something rushing about his room. He initially assumed the offender was a rodent or a mouse. Instead, he met someone very unexpectedly.
A sugar glider, to be precise.
“I didn’t know it was a sugar glider, so I sent photos to some friends and they helped me to identify it,” Zou said in a press release.
Zou had left a window open, so he assumed the little guy had gotten in that way. Sugar gliders are native to Australia, New Guinea and parts of Indonesia, so it’s likely that he was someone’s pet who either got out or was abandoned
Zou phoned the RSPCA and requested that they come and collect the sugar glider. He spent time with his new acquaintance while waiting for someone to arrive, allowing him to walk around his flat and nibble on some fruit. While it wasn’t what Zou had anticipated being doing at 5 a.m., the sugar glider seemed to be having a nice time exploring and posing for photographs.
The sugar glider definitely bonded with Zou while they waited together for the RSPCA, and it’s clear that the little guy picked the right apartment to wander into.
Finally, RSPCA inspector Francesca Tambini arrived to get the sugar glider and take him to a specialist who could properly care for him. Zou was sad to see his new friend go, but was glad he was off to get the care he needed.
In a news statement, Tambini remarked, “Sugar gliders appear really attractive, and this little boy is gorgeous.” “It’s understandable why people could be tempted to acquire them as pets, but we would advise them to think again; these animals require highly specialized care, and we don’t feel they are acceptable as pets… We do see these types of creatures being abandoned from time to time when their owners [realize] how tough it is to manage their demands in a family situation.”
Now the little sugar glider is safe and sound in his new home — and Zou has the best story to tell about the time a sugar glider snuck into his apartment.
0 Comments