"Flipper" - The Feathertail Glider

©Wildlife Mountain 2000, 2001, 2002

Wildlife Mountain is sponsored by the caring people from Foto Riesel. All pictures in this site are taken using their camera's and equipment. (364a Kent St, Sydney, +61 (02) 92996746)

We are also kindly sponsored by the friendly gang from the Ginger Necktar Drink Company.

We would also like to acknowledge the amazing support and help we have had from the Lismore Vet Clinic who have been an invaluable support to both us and the native wildlife of this region.

All native birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles are proteced under the Wildlife Act 1975, they may not be captured or harmed in any way without an authority issued under the Wildlife Act.





		Feathertail Glider She was found on a lawn curled up in a small bird's nest after fate blew her down in a storm. I had been told she was small, but after opening the pouch she came in, the only word to describe this 2.5 cm baby is "puny". With slight fuzzy grey fur, barely weighing three grams and smelling like a dead mouse, I picked her up for a closer look. She has the cutest Panda like furry face, a tiny millimeter long pouch on her stomach and a gliding membrane from elbow to knee. Her feet resemble a frog with large pads on her toes with serrated groves underneath which allow her to climb things such as glass . Being so young she still needs warmth so for the moment lives in the humidibox on 24 degrees with branches and a hollow log to hide in. So small you wouldn't think it eats much but don't judge a book by its cover, she can eat! At the moment she is primarily on special glider milk mixed with pureed fruit which she gets four times a day but is also licking the nectar and pollen off Grevillea and Bottlebrush flowers and attacking the odd insect As she gets older her now fur less flat tail will grow stiff fringed hairs horizontally all the way to the tip resembling a feather for which her kind get their name .They are the only known Mammal to have a feather like tail . Flipper will be able to use her tail to steer and brake as she parachutes up to 20 meters through the trees looking for munchies. Fully grown she will weigh up to 14 grams with a head and body length of up to an enormous 8 cm. Feathertail gliders will build their nests in just about anything from abandoned birds nests to banana bags and breed all year round . .The female rarely carries more than three young at a time and can fall pregnant whist still carrying young in the pouch . Feathertail Gliders are from the Burramyidae family and are related to the Pygmy Possum. What facinates me most about these animals, is that because they are so small they have trouble staying warm when it is cold or when there is a shortage of food, so they enter a state known as Torpidity. This means that for short periods, no longer than two weeks, their breathing slows down and the animal is in suspended animation, not to be mistaken for hibernation which is much longer and is not known to occur in marsupials. Baby Feathertail gliders can easily be mistakin for baby mice or rats so please always look closely if you find a nest!


			©Wildlife Mountain 2000, 2001, 2002 Wildlife Mountain is sponsored by the caring people from Foto Riesel. All pictures in this site are taken using their camera's and equipment. (364a Kent St, Sydney, +61 (02) 92996746) We are also kindly sponsored by the friendly gang from the Ginger Necktar Drink Company. We would also like to acknowledge the amazing support and help we have had from the Lismore Vet Clinic who have been an invaluable support to both us and the native wildlife of this region. All native birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles are proteced under the Wildlife Act 1975, they may not be captured or harmed in any way without an authority issued under the Wildlife Act.