Sugar Glider

The sugar glider is a small, nocturnal marsupial native to the forests of Australia, New Guinea and nearby islands, named for its fondness for sweet foods such as nectar, sap and honeydew, and for the gliding membrane, called a patagium, that stretches between its front and hind limbs. By extending its limbs while leaping from a tree, the sugar glider can glide considerable distances between trunks, using its long, bushy tail to steer, an adaptation that lets it travel efficiently through the forest canopy while avoiding ground predators. It is an omnivore, supplementing its diet of sap, nectar and pollen with insects and other small invertebrates, and it lives in social family groups that share nests in tree hollows, communicating with a range of vocalizations and scent marking. Sugar gliders are mainly active at night, sheltering in groups during the day to conserve warmth. The species remains widespread and common across much of its native range, though habitat loss from land clearing threatens some local populations, and it has also become a popular, if demanding, exotic pet in several countries.