Petaurus norfolcensis

A nimble bushy-tailed glider with a thirst for sweet nectar!

Conservation Status

They are listed as a Vulnerable species in NSW .The Squirrel Glider population on Barrenjoey Peninsula, north of Bushrangers Hill, has been listed separately as an endangered population. At a national level the Squirrel Glider is regarded as a 'near threatened' species.

What does it look like?

The Squirrel Glider is descended from early marsupials that lived on our continent millions of years ago. Squirrel Gliders are often confused with the Sugar Glider which makes it hard to confirm their exact distribution and abundance.  (The Sugar Glider is much more common in Sydney.) 

However, an adult Squirrel Glider is quieter than a Sugar Glider and has a distinct dark stripe running down between its eyes to its back. Its tail is soft and bushy, rather like the North American squirel. Its fur is blue-grey to brown-grey fur above, and its belly is white.  While its body may be around 20 centimetres in length, its tail can be even longer - an average of 27 centimetres! 

The Squirrel Glider is highly agile and is an expert tree climber. It has a special membrane between its front and back legs which spreads like a parachute when it leaps from the highest branches. Their bushy tails work like a rudder to guide their descent.  Their amazing gliding ability is combined with an exact sense of timing. They easily navigate thick tree trunks, branches and twigs. The Squirrel Glider can reach up to 50 metres in one single leap!

Where does it live?

Squirrel Gliders are strictly nocturnal and live in the trees of scrubby eucalypt woodlands and thickets, and tall, wet eucalypt forests.

Squirrel Gliders need a habitat with lots of tree hollows to use as their dens and for raising their young.  They will use the hollows of both live and dead trees - trees such as eucalypts are angophoras are the perfect site for a Squirrel Glider nest.  Ideally, the hollow will have a tight-fitting entrance hole to stop any large animals from entering.  And there really is no place like home - Squirrel Gliders are known to travel up to 1 kilometre from their foraging area to a preferred hollow!

Sightings of Squirrel Gliders have declined steeply on Barrenjoey Peninsula.  While it's important that people keep food plants for Squirrel Gliders in their gardens, some local reserves are vital as a core refuge and breeding habitat for these beautiful animals. The wildlife corridors between these reserves are equally important as they allow safe passage between them.

 These include:

• Stapleton Park
• Angophora Reserve
• Attunga Reserve
• Palmgrove and Toongari Reserves

What does it eat?

Squirrel Gliders like variety!  They choose habitats with a diverse range of trees and shrubs that will flower - or provide nectar - across the seasons.  It is believed that some Squirrel Gliders will travel long distances to get the variety they need in their diet.

The perfect Squirrel Glider diet includes:

Sugary carbohydrates for energy:

• Nectar 
• Sap - to feed on sap, gliders will gouge and lick incisions on the trunks and main branches of eucalyptus, corymbia and angophora trees.
• Gum from acacia trees
• Honeydew (sugary secretions of sap-sucking insects)

The availability of these carbohydrates throughout the year appears to be a critical habitat requirement.

Protein-rich foods:

• Beetles
• Caterpillars
• Pollen

At times, Squirrel Gliders will even feed on on Trochocarpa and mistletoe fruits, Acacia seeds and arils (the fleshy bits covering the seeds), and lichens.  Some Squirrel Gliders have even been seen feeding on birds and their eggs!

On the Barrenjoey peninsula, some of the most important trees and shrubs to feed the Squirrel Glider are:

• Red Bloodwood
• Coast Banksia
• Spotted Gum
• Swamp Mahogany
• Old man Banksia
• Grey Ironbark

What is its life cycle?

Squirrel Gliders are social animals. Typically, they live in a family group of between two and nine individuals in a cosy, leaf-lined nest built in the hollow of a tree.  The group will have one male and at least two adult females with their young offspring. 

The peak breeding season is in winter. A female Squirrel Glider gives birth to one or two young. After birth, they attach to teats in her pouch to feed on her warm milk. After about two months, they emerge into the nest.  A young Squirrel Glider leaves the nest at around one year old to begin a life foraging in the trees. If the young glider is female, it may stay with its family group. If it is male, it will probably be forced to leave and set up a family of its own.

They require an abundace of tree hollows for use as den sites and for raising young. Hollows in dead trees are used extensively, as well as those in live trees. Favoured hollows typically have a tight-fitting entrance hole, which may help to exclude larger hollow-using species. The usual sources of hollows are trees of the genera Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora such as Spotted Gums and Bloodwoods.

What are the threats?

There are many threats to the survival of these beautiful delicate gliders. These include:

• Loss and destruction of habitat
• Tree removal in urban areas. Trees provide hollows for nesting and denning. They are also food resources. They also allow the gliders to move through urban areas, gliding from tree to tree
• Absence of wildlife corridors. Gliders can follow the different flowering of tree species and they are particularly vulnerable when trees are removed. Loss of movement corridors and loss of seasonally important habitats
• Fires are potential cause of death and may also affect food resources
• Cats and dog attacks (recent Australian Museum specimens have all gliders killed by cats)
• Foxes
• Road casualties

What can we do to protect it?

• Preserve remaining bushland
• Preserve native trees that are essential for the food, habitat and movement of gliders
• Keep cats indoors
• Provide wildlife corridors

Updated: 06 Dec 2011