Mahogany glider images: Gliding possum photographed by Terrain NRM

An endangered gliding possum has been caught on camera at three sites between Tully and Townsville raising hopes for future conservation efforts.

An endangered mahogany glider spotted during a critical population survey. Picture: Kieran Palmer

An endangered gliding possum has been caught on camera at three sites between Tully and Townsville raising hopes for future conservation efforts.

Terrain NRM project leader Jacqui Diggins said the elusive mahogany gliders had been spotted in bush on the Cardwell Range and at Bambaroo south of Ingham as part of a five-year monitoring program.

Mahogany gliders are only found between Tully and Ollera Creek, north of Townsville.

The last population estimate based on data collected from 1994 to 1996 was that just 1500 and 2000 mahogany gliders remained.

The estimate was before Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi battered the region in 2011.

Kieran Palmer with a mahogany glider at Porter's Creek near Ingham between Townsville and Tully. Picture: @furrygliders

Mrs Diggins said cameras had been used over the past two years, along with catch and release trapping to take tiny tissue samples to better understand the boundaries of mahogany glider habitat, populations and genetic health.

The work was part of a Terrain NRM project funded by the Australian Government, and was also James Cook University research led by PhD student Eryn Chang and Professor Conrad Hoskins.

“Looking for populations of mahogany gliders within the known distribution areas, and also beyond them, was the first step,” Mrs Diggins said.

“Now we have selected some key populations to monitor through time.”

She said three sites with the highest incidence of the gliders had been selected for further research, with hopes that further locations would be identified in the future.

“We’ll need five consecutive years of records to begin to know population trends, which can inform us for long-term management of this endangered species.

The State Government recently added of 56.49 hectares of land to Girringun National Park for the mahogany glider.

Terrain NRM’s ‘Biodiversity Bright Spots - Building Resilience in Wet Tropics Woodlands’ project was funded by the Australian Government through its National Landcare Program.

The project also includes working with landholders and conservationists on native trees plantings to bridge gaps in glider habitat, and working with Girringun Aboriginal Rangers and the Queensland Department of Resources on controlled burns in pockets of remaining woodland to stop rainforest from thickening and preventing gliders from moving between trees.

Originally published as Mahogany glider images: Gliding possum photographed by Terrain NRM