Aussie woman's remarkable discovery inside tree hollow
In a world-first, an endangered greater glider has been discovered using its tail in a way no one thought was possible. The species has undergone a rapid decline over the last 20 years, and researchers are working against the clock to understand more about them.
The footage of the male glider was captured after a camera with a live-feed was set up in his den. Previously, it had been thought these massive koala-sized animals had tails that were unable to grip, but the footage challenges this assumption.
It shows the doting father named Milo using his tail to carry a bundle of eucalyptus stems inside his tree hollow for his child Brimi to eat.
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The live stream was set up by Dr Ana Gracanin, an ecologist at the Australian National University. 'This unique behaviour had never been observed before, it's also some of the first evidence for paternal care in the species. Watching the joey take its first few nibbles was adorable, with little bite marks left as it tasted leaves, one by one,' she said.
Speaking later with Yahoo News, Gracinin said the discovery had left her feeling 'ecstatic'. 'I've been watching the livestream from my work desk every single day, and they tend to do a lot of the same things — sleep, groom, stretch, groom. So when I was looking back at the activities and seeing Milo bring in leaves was really exciting,' she said.
The project was supported by the World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia (WWF), National Parks Association NSW, Wilderness Australia, and Social Justice Advocates of the Sapphire Coast. And it's enabled people around the world to watch the complex social behaviour of glider family.
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Gracinin explained that very little is known about greater glider behaviour, particularly when it comes to how they parent.
'Greater gliders are often thought of as solitary, but we've seen Pip, Milo, and Brimi grooming, snuggling, and even engaging in what looks like play,' she said after the footage was discovered.
WWF-Australia conservation scientist Dr Kita Ashman said the footage highlights why it's so important for glider habitat trees to be protected. The footage was taken at a secret location on the state's south coast, close to where the NSW state government-owned Forestry Corporation NSW is continuing to log forests known to be home to the endangered creatures.
'Greater glider trees are being logged by a government-owned hardwood business that has lost nearly $90 million in the last four and a half years. Losing that much money to degrade habitat and hurt our unique wildlife is shocking,' she said.
'The NSW government needs to transition out of native forest logging to save greater gliders and other threatened species.'
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