“His super long, fluffy tail gave it away
“The first time I saw one, I was taking a night walk and we heard that big crash in the eucalyptus trees above,” said Wendy Bithell of Vision Walks eco tours When we buckled on night vision goggles, the nature guide’s secret weapon for spotting nocturnal animals in the rainforest of northern New South Wales (NSW).
“We looked up and his super long, fluffy tail gave it away,” added Bithell. “They are beautiful creatures, but they are not as graceful as you might think.”
A solitary, tree-dwelling marsupial with large furry ears, large round eyes, and a feather boa-like tail that lives in the eucalyptus forests of eastern Australia, the larger glider is often referred to as a clumsy flying opossum. Just cuter.
“They are like living muppets,” said Australian National University (ANU) ecologist Dr. Kara Youngentob, on Zoom. “Most people know their way around better Sugar gliders [a small, sweet-toothed glider species heavily exploited in the illicit international pet trade] – Think of the bigger glider as its bigger, lazier, fluffier cousin. ”
The larger glider is the only member of the ringtail possum family that does not have a grippy prehensile tail. But it’s also unique to its relatives in that it feeds exclusively on eucalyptus leaves (like koalas) and has sliding membranes that run only from the elbows to the ankles (unlike its cousins, whose membranes extend to the front paws). This allows them to perform more controlled gliders and gives them a kind of superhero quality in flight.
“When you jump, you stretch your little arms out in front of you like Wonder Woman,” said Youngentob. Similar to the comic book heroine, the species can also glide over long distances – up to 100 m between the treetops, where it condenses in tree hollows, the formation of which can take more than a century.
Three times cuter
It was previously thought to range from the steamy tropical rainforests of Far North Queensland to the cool, humid forests of Victoria’s Central Highlands, an area of approximately 3,000 km recently proven There are three different species, the further north they live, the smaller the nocturnal marsupials.
The differences in size were noted when larger science gliders were first described in the 19th century (by Scottish science author Robert Kerr in a 1792 paper building on the work of the Swedish botanist and “father of modern taxonomy” Carl von Linné), but it became believed the specimens were a species (Petauroides volans) that grew larger at lower latitudes to conserve heat, a theory known as Bergmann’s rule.
James Cook University researcher Denise McGregor, who led the study published in November 2020, tested this theory as part of her PhD, with genetic material from larger gliders in northern Queensland (the size of a small ringtail possum) proving it was a different species from the cat-sized southern species found south of the Tropic of Capricorn (to which the scientific name Petauroids volans now refers. But that wasn’t the only discovery she would make.
“By then, another group – Jackson and Groves – had published a book on sliding mammals [Taxonomy of Australian Mammals (2015)] in which they suggested there were three different types, “said McGregor.” So I thought I’d better get some samples from where the third species lived [in mid-Queensland, west of Mackay up to Townsville]and for sure we came back with three kinds. “
Little is known of the central species (Petauroides armillatus) and the northern species (Perauroides minor; their territory is believed to extend north of Cairns), although the thrill of discovery is mitigated by its conservation impact.
Environmental threats
While understanding the ecology of a species is important in developing conservation management, Youngentob, who co-authored the study, means that by dividing the larger glider into three species, there are fewer of them to protect.
“We already had the new species data beforehand Bushfire last summerWhen the southern tall ship’s entire habitat was on fire, we were just petrified because we knew the species didn’t exist anywhere else, “she said.
According to long-term surveys by ANU professor David Lindenmayer, Australia’s leading expert on gliders, the southern population in some areas had fallen by 80% before the bushfires. This loss is largely due to deforestation, which wiped out huge pieces of hollow-bearing trees that larger gliders rely on.
Indeed, a World Wildlife Fund 2020 report showed that the destruction of a larger sailplane habitat in NSW and Queensland increased by 52% after the species was classified as critically endangered by the federal government in 2016.
“Logging not only destroys a larger habitat for gliders,” said Lindenmayer. “It also makes bushfires burn hotter and changes the composition of the landscape into less palatable food trees.”
Climate change also affects the species as nighttime temperatures rise – Sydney has recorded this The hottest November night ever in 2020 – supposed to cause larger gliders to lose their appetite, much like humans do in hot weather.
“Larger gliders have minimal fat reserves, so they can’t survive more than a few days without food,” said Youngentob. “In some places, the hotter nights are likely killing these animals.”
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Save the bigger glider
The bushfires have caused the federal government to rethink the tall ship’s conservation status, but researchers argue that more measures are needed to protect the species.
“If we don’t stop clearing thousands of acres of land for coal mining and cutting thousands of acres of forest to make wood chips, the bigger glider will become the next koala,” said Lindenmayer Extinction crisis now faced with the iconic marsupial.
Meanwhile, wildlife organizations on the east coast of Australia are stepping up efforts to save the species. In mid-2020 the Queensland Glider Network, an arm of Wildlife Preservation Society of Queenslandstarted a major glider surveillance project in the southeast of the state to promote conservation awareness. South of the border, conservationists are currently campaigning against planned deforestation of several glider habitats in northern New South Wales, including the Bungabbee State Forest north of the casino. A recent survey by the North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) also found that two endangered animals were previously unknown – the long-nosed potoroo and the marbled frog-mouth.
“We could possibly lose another type of glider before we even know it exists
“The area has already been cleared of large, hollow-bearing trees, so the larger glider population will be in great trouble if they lose what’s left,” said NEFA co-founder Dailan Pugh, whose environmental activism founded the 1990s the state’s first endangered species legislation.
In Victoria, conservationists welcomed the closure of 96,000 acres of forest in 2019 to help protect larger gliders. By the New Year, however, about half of the reserve had been decimated by bushfires.
“We could potentially lose another type of glider before we even know it exists,” said McGregor.
The new “dark” tourism?
Only active after dark, usually clinging to the treetops and tending to avoid residential areas where larger nocturnal animals like brush-tailed opossums compete for resources, larger gliders can put some effort into recognizing them. In a way, this explains why glider tourism hasn’t just started (yet). However, finding an opportunity to spot these mysterious creatures could help preserve them.
The Queensland Wildlife Preservation Society regularly runs larger glider tours, as does the Melbourne-based conservation organization Greening Australiawith the associated costs of supporting various nature conservation programs. More regular tours are offered by Carnarvon Gorge Eco Tours in the central QLD and Faunagraphic Wildlife Tours in the southeast of the state. Go during the breeding season (which McGregor believes can vary between species) and you may be lucky enough to spot a pair intertwining their tails in advertising.
“The southern species come in different colors, so you often get that cool contrast if you wrap a light and a dark together,” said Youngentob.
On my own night vision walk, I see long-nosed bandicoots, pademelons, short-eared possums, bush rats and even a giant snake with coarse scales. But incisions in a tree trunk made by a sap-eating sugar glider are the closest to seeing a larger glider that was once a common feature of my local rainforests.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen one,” said Bithell, “but when we do, it’s a relief to know they’re still out there.”
Curiosities of nature is a BBC Travel series that offers a glimpse into nature and takes adventurous travelers on an unexpected journey of discovery.
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