F.A.Q.

Physical description

The Sugar Glider is around 16 to 21 cm (6.3 to 7.5 inches) in length, with a tail almost as long as the body and almost as thick as a human thumb, and weighs between 90 and 150 grams (3 to 5.3 oz). The fur is generally pearl grey, with black and cream patches on the underbelly and black or grey ears. Other color variations include leusistic and albino recessive traits. The tail tapers only moderately and the last quarter of it is black, often with a dark tip. The muzzle is short and rounded. Northern forms tend to be brown colored rather than grey and, smaller.

The most distinctive features of its anatomy, however, are the twin skin membranes called patagia which extend from the fifth finger of the forelimb back to the first toe of the hind foot. These are inconspicuous when the Sugar Glider is at rest – it merely looks a little flabby – but immediately obvious when it takes flight. The membranes are used to glide between trees: when fully extended they form an aerodynamic surface the size of a large handkerchief. Membranes are also used to gather food while hunting. The membrane has a thin sheet of fur surrounding it, but it is usually pink in color. The gliding membranes are primarily used as an efficient way to get to food resources. They may also, as a secondary function, help the Sugar Glider escape predators like goannas, introduced foxes and cats, and the marsupial carnivores, such as quolls, the Kowari, mulgaras, and antechinuses that foxes, cats, and dingos largely supplanted. The ability to glide from tree to tree is clearly of little value with regard to the Sugar Glider's avian predators, however, in particular owls and kookaburras.

Although its aerial adaptation looks rather clumsy in comparison to the highly specialized limbs of birds and bats, the Sugar Glider can glide for a surprisingly long distance — flights have been measured at over 50 meters (55 yd) — and steer effectively by curving one patagium or the other. It uses its hind legs to thrust powerfully away from a tree, and when about 3 meters (3 yd) from the destination tree trunk, brings its hind legs up close to the body and swoops upwards to make contact with all four limbs together. They have perfect eye sight at night & can judge distance very well for a jump. They do not Fly they glide.

Conservation status

Unlike many native animals, particularly smaller ones, the Sugar Glider is not endangered.^[3] Despite the massive loss of natural habitat in Australia over the last 200 years, it is adaptable and capable of living in surprisingly small patches of remnant bush, particularly if it does not have to cross large expanses of clear-felled land to reach them. Several close relatives, however, are endangered, particularly Lead beater's Possum and the Mahogany Glider (which, to the non-expert, looks almost exactly like a Sugar Glider). The Sugar Glider is protected by law in Australia, where it is illegal to keep them without a permit,^[4] or to capture or sell them without a license (which is usually only issued for research).