Flying lessons for orphaned sugar gliders
SUGAR gliders rescued from areas where habitat has been torn up by development have been enrolled in a bootcamp designed to get them fit for a return to the wild.
Volunteers from Bulimba Creek Catchment group B4C have built a glider gym as part of a release program to improve the survival rate of orphaned or injured sugar gliders as they are released back to bushland.
According to B4C operations manager Stefan Hattingh pressures of development are forcing gliders into ever smaller pockets of habitat.
“A tree that is lopped can break a link to a corridor for these gliders. A koala can get down and walk to another spot, gliders can’t,” Mr Hattingh said.
“If they cannot glide across, that link is broken and they are isolated from the ones on the other side.
“Because of this habitat fragmentation we find they are going through genetic bottlenecks because they can’t get across, for instance, the Gateway Motorway.
“It cuts their habitat in half. Whenever you have a road wider than 30m, the younger ones can’t get across.”
Mr Hattingh said the gym was set up to get the baby gliders “survival fit”.
“You have to get them in a large enclosure to get them fit and moving,” he said. “It is learnt behaviour to jump and glide and do all these things.
“You want to give them the best chance you can.”