On Saturday, October 11, Dr Ana Gracanin did something many of us could only dream of. She climbed high into the forest canopy in Tallaganda and spent the night surrounded by one of Australia’s most endangered animals – the greater glider.
This marked the second year that Ana and Team Greater Glider took on this extraordinary challenge to raise vital funds for ACF’s work protecting Australia’s threatened species. This year they have already passed their initial fundraising goal of $3,000, and donations are still open for those wishing to support their incredible efforts.
Ana is a research fellow at the Australian National University’s Fenner School of Environment and Society, but her real office is high up in the treetops. As an environmental scientist specialising in arboreal marsupials (marsupials that spend most of their time in trees), she spends her nights observing greater gliders in their natural habitat. It’s an experience she describes as nothing short of magical.
“Last year was such a sublime experience - sleeping in the canopy while greater gliders foraged just metres away in the branches around us. It was magical, and the incredible community support that helped us surpass our fundraising goal made me want to do it all again this year,” said Ana.
Ana’s passion for these creatures emerged during her undergraduate years at the University of Wollongong.
On a night spotlighting trip with her lab group, she saw a greater glider for the first time. “It was the silliest, fluffiest, most wonderful animal I’d ever seen, and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t even known it existed. From that moment, I wanted to learn everything about them.”
Why greater gliders need our help
Greater gliders have experienced a catastrophic decline over the past 20 years, and Ana’s research is revealing just how vulnerable they are. Through her ‘greater glider livestream’, she’s captured behaviours never recorded before – like father gliders carrying food to their young using their tails. How cute!
These discoveries have also highlighted something critical: greater gliders need large old trees with hollows for shelter. But there’s a problem. With a lifespan of only around ten years, greater gliders can’t wait for new trees to grow and form hollows, a process that takes centuries.
“Deforestation is a significant threat for greater gliders because the loss of habitat is immediate,” explained Ana.
“Populations can decline significantly or entirely disappear when their habitat is gone.”
Right now, as the government prepares to rewrite Australia’s outdated nature laws, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Closing deforestation loopholes and protecting the ancient forests these animals depend on is essential for their survival.
“Each action on its own might feel small, but together they add up to something powerful: one big voice, one big movement."
Ana’s commitment to greater gliders goes beyond research. She is showing us that protecting wildlife takes a community effort.
“We can all contribute in different ways; whether that’s donating, volunteering, taking part in citizen science projects, signing petitions, writing to MPs, joining community events, or simply talking to others about why these species matter,” she says.
Team Greater Glider has now raised over $8,000 across two years of camping in the canopy. You can still support their efforts and help ACF defend nature and protect threatened species like the greater gliders.
Donate to Team Greater Glider today and help to make sure that these incredible animals don’t just survive, but thrive!