What is a sugar glider?
A sugar glider is a small, nocturnal possum that glides between trees using a furry membrane stretched between its front and back legs. It lives in forests of eastern and northern Australia.
Sugar gliders weigh only about 100 to 160 grams. They have soft grey fur, a dark stripe running down the back and large dark eyes that help them see at night.
When a sugar glider leaps from a tree, it spreads its limbs so the gliding membrane, called a patagium, opens like a parachute. It can glide 50 metres or more, steering with its legs and using its bushy tail for balance.
Diet and social life
Sugar gliders feed on sweet plant sap, nectar, gum from acacia trees and insects. Their love of sugary foods gives them their name.
They live in groups of up to about seven adults, sharing a nest in a tree hollow. Group members mark each other with scent.
In cold weather, they huddle together and can enter a state of torpor to save energy.
Females usually raise one or two young, which stay in the pouch for about 70 days before moving to the nest. Owls, quolls, goannas and cats are among their predators.
Did You Know?
Recent research suggests that what was called the sugar glider is actually three separate species.