SHADOW
the Squirrel Glider

Shadow lives in forests and woodlands away from the coast. These are usually dry schlerophyll / eucalyptus forests on the Great Dividing Range and further inland.

She lives in a nest in a hollow tree which she makes comfortable by lining it with soft leaves. When she is disturbed she makes a defiant gurgling chatter. Shadow likes to eat the gum of acacia trees and the sap of various eucalypts. She also likes some insects and the sweet deposits made by some invertebrates.

Shadow is a good glider, launching herself from the top of a tree and gliding perhaps 50 metres to the trunk of the next tree. As she lands she turns upwards so that all four sets of sharp claws can grip the tree. She quickly climbs to the top and glides off to the next tree. It is safer for Shadow to glide, because she doesn't need to go down onto the ground.

Female Squirrel Gliders usually have two babies which live in the pouch for around 70 days. When they get too big for the pouch, the babies live in the nest for another few weeks. Then they begin to accompany their mother, learning how to forage for food. When they are 7 to 10 months old the young Squirrel Gliders finally leave their mothers nest and go and find some forest and a new home for themselves.

Because so much forest has been cut down for farming, there is not much area left for the Squirrel Gliders. often they are forced to live in the trees that are left along the edges of country roads. We need to grow more trees for Shadow the Squirrel Glider.