Conservation biologist, Dr. Ana Gracanin, a research fellow at the Fenner School, ANU, generously gave a great deal of time and effort to provide a very special outing for Field Naturalists. After presenting an extremely engaging talk about the Greater Glider (Petauroides volans), she offered to show us this animal in the field. Places were limited and the event was fully subscribed.
On the night of Friday 5 July, Ana drove a full mini-bus from ANU to a site in Tallaganda National Park. The weather was dry and calm, and not even too cold for the time of year.
True to her word, Ana did locate Greater Gliders! During a spotlight walk of a couple of hours, we actually observed about 10 gliders, indicating a dense population. The tall mature forest at the site mostly comprised Brown Barrel (Eucalyptus fastigata) and Mountain Gum (E. dalrympleana). Here in this preferred habitat, Ana predicted their home range was between 1 and 2 ha, but she told us it can be larger at more marginal sites. Nearly all animals were high in the canopy near their favoured hollow locations, though luckily for us, a few were lower down the trees. Most were solitary animals, but a couple of times there were two together.
The Greater Glider has been listed as endangered since 2022. Not only is its presence in a forest valuable in its own right, but it is being recognised as an indicator of high-quality habitat for many other species, as this amimal requires trees to be mature enough to provide suitable hollows. As such, the Greater Glider is becoming an important species to locate forest areas where native logging should not occur.
After the walk, Ana provided some welcome hot drinks and food, and Deidre also brought along some home-made treats.
Feedback from participants has been really wonderful. Thanks so much Ana!
– John Stein
Links to more information about Ana’s Greater Glider research:
The ANU Newsroom (15 Jul 2026) – https://reporter.anu.edu.au/all-stories/not-the-greatest-glider-first-study-puts-australias-biggest-glider-to-the-test
Scientific Papers – https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ana-Gracanin
Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDONpycNUZc&list=PLqD-8Sb3dWmbzBPeVStGE9ZKygJ6U-Bbf&index=2