New way to save Australian Greater Glider in NSW, Victoria and QLD after bushfires

Australia’s rarely seen nocturnal mammal from NSW, Victoria and Qld which looks like Gizmo, the Gremlins movie character, is getting a new home.

Rangers build new homes after bushfires ravaged the habitat of Australia's Greater Gliders. Picture: Supplied.

They are all big ears, big eyes and luxurious fur and are often referred to as Australia’s answer to the much-loved Gremlin’s character known as Gizmo.

The Greater Glider, one of the nation’s unique and nocturnal mammals, was once found in abundance along the eastern seaboard forests from Queensland and NSW to Victoria – but many Australian’s have probably never seen one.

The adorable gliders, which were already facing extinction because of a gradual destruction of their habitat are under increasing pressure after the black summer bushfires last year destroyed many of the eucalyptus trees they feed from and call home.

The much-loved character of Gizmo from the movie Gremlins. Picture Supplied.

The gliders which can leap up to 100 metres through the forest have very specific requirements for their homes and need up to 20 cosy dens in tree hollows to sleep their days away.

The dens can only be found in old growth trees which take on average 100 years to form a hollow.

So the Federal Government has stepped in to fund a program using Indigenous Rangers, the Banbai rangers who are the traditional owners, to help carve out artificial hollows where they can live while the forests recover.

Indigenous rangers are building new homes after bushfires ravaged the habitat of Australia's Greater Gliders. Pictures: Supplied.

The government has given $200,000 for a project at Guyra in the NSW Northern Tablelands where more than 40 per cent of their habit was destroyed in the bushfires.

There are already 20 projects helping Greater Gliders as part of the Australian Government’s $200 million investment in bushfire recovery of native wildlife and their habitat including creating Greater Glider hollows or nesting boxes around Taree, East Gippsland and on the edges of the alps in Victoria.

The artificial hollows made by the Indigenous Banbai rangers. Pictures: Supplied.

Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley said the artificial hollows will replace those that were damaged and increase the number of hollows available to help the population recover.

“The artificial hollows will provide crucial shelter and nesting sites for the Greater Gliders, she said.

The artificial hollows are created by chains awing out space inside the trees and have been found to be more effective than traditional wooden nesting boxes that were being previously being used.

The boxes were found to be heating up to temperatures of more than 50 degrees during hot weather and they are also occupied by other birds and mammals.

The Banbai Rangers will manage the area and will undertake cultural burns to promote regeneration and protect the area from future out of control bushfires. The program is part of the $200 million bushfire recovery program for wildlife to help build up the threatened species again.

The Greater Glider was listed as vulnerable to extinction under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act in 2016 with habitat destruction described as a catastrophic threat.

Originally published as New way to save Australian Greater Glider in NSW, Victoria and QLD after bushfires