The greater glider is Australia’s largest gliding species. It has a long, well-furred tail and a gliding membrane from the elbows to the ankles. The greater glider varies in colour from almost white to grey or mottled to chocolate brown. The under body is usually white.
The greater glider is restricted to eastern Australia, from the Windsor Tableland in north Queensland to central Victoria. On the Gold Coast, this species has been found in Austinville, Clagiraba, Helensvale, Lower Beechmont, Nerang, Parkwood, Wongawallen, Worongary, and Springbrook.
The greater glider is a tree living (arboreal), nocturnal marsupial that inhabits tall eucalypt forests and woodlands. They feed mostly on eucalypt leaves and, like koalas, prefer particular tree species, although little is known about their preferred food trees on the Gold Coast.
Individuals are solitary and use multiple den trees in their home range. By day they sleep in a nest in a tree hollow. A pair will usually share a nest from the onset of mating until young leave the pouch. Breeding is from March to June. The female usually rears one young, which leaves the pouch at 12 to 16 weeks of age. The young is confined to the nest until it can ride on its mother’s back.
Image credit: Josh Bowell