City of Moreton Bay Council says the local Southern Greater Glider distribution is greater than initially thought, with the endangered species detected at multiple new locations across the local government area.
The known range of the nocturnal marsupial – nicknamed the flying koala due to its fluffy appearance and diet of eucalyptus leaves – has grown from one known site at Sheep Station Creek Conservation Park, Upper Caboolture in 2023 to 11 locations across the City.
Two detection dogs have helped uncover the hidden populations over the past three years as part of a Council conservation project.
Despite their large ears and long fluffy tails, the Southern Greater Glider is one of Australia’s most elusive animals, as they hide out in large eucalyptus trees with well-formed hollows during the day and make no audible noise.
The detection dogs sniffed out scats, or faeces, from the Southern Greater Glider with DNA analysis confirming the presence of the species at 10 locations across Cedar Creek, Cashmere, Moorina, Bunya, Mt Nebo and Mt Glorious.
Mayor, Peter Flannery said this was a significant development given the species’ endangered status.
“Our conservation project has shown that City of Moreton Bay is home to a much larger population of Southern Greater Gliders than previously known,” he said.
“We thought it didn’t make sense that Southern Greater Gliders would only be living at Sheep Station Creek Conservation Park given the amount of suitable habitat in our City, and we’ve been incredibly pleased to discover so many places where the marsupial has been hiding out.
“The substantial presence of this endangered species is yet another example of the exceptionally rich biodiversity that exists in our City.”
Detection dog surveys were undertaken at 40 Council-owned reserves and various Land for Wildlife Properties by a combination of Council’s Environmental Services team and the National Environmental Science Program.
German Shepherd, Ada (pictured) and English Springer Spaniel, Stanley, took it in turns to visit the survey sites where they would search for greater glider scats.
Their handler, Nicky Wright, said both dogs were raised and trained to detect greater glider scats, with Ada also trained on koala scats.
“We would try to use fire trails and tracks to walk on and send the dog off; when they find a scat they demonstrate a change in behaviour and then present their find,” she explained.
“Ada sometimes found koala scats, which look very different to that of a greater glider. On some sites we found so many greater glider scats there was no longer the need to keep looking!”
Council officers collected the scats, which were sent off for DNA analysis to confirm their origin.
As part of ongoing efforts to locate further Southern Greater Glider populations, Council will soon conduct thermal drone searches at reserves with inaccessible terrain following a successful trial at Sheep Station Creek Conservation Park.
Council has been distributing flyers to residents to see if they can find Southern Greater Gliders on their properties as regular torches can be used to spot their distinctive, reflective golden eye shine. It says reported sightings are important for the species’ conservation in the City of Moreton Bay.
