Controversial Rule May Be Stressing Endangered Greater Gliders
New evidence suggests that protective rules for greater gliders may be causing more harm than good, leaving them stressed and undernourished.
Greater Gliders, Australia, Tallaganda State Forest, Endangered Species, Environment
Tallaganda: So, there’s this big fuss going on about greater gliders in Australia. These little guys are super rare and need all the help they can get. But it turns out that some rules meant to protect them might actually be stressing them out.
These gliders are critically endangered because their homes, the tree hollows, are disappearing fast. The Forestry Corporation of NSW is in charge of logging in areas where these gliders live, and they have to follow some pretty strict rules about leaving buffer zones around the trees where gliders are spotted.
But here’s the kicker: a recent study found that the buffer zones are way too big compared to the gliders’ actual territory. They only need about 80 square meters, but the rules are protecting way more than that. This means they can’t find enough food and are getting stressed out.
After bushfires, these gliders try to move around more to find food, but that’s not good for them. They need to stay still to digest their food properly. It’s a tough situation since their diet doesn’t give them much nutrition, and they’re pretty big animals.
The lead researcher, Vivianna Miritis, mentioned that while the gliders are managing for now, they can’t keep this up forever. If they don’t have enough habitat, they’re going to get stressed, which is not what we want for an endangered species.
Some experts are calling the current buffer zones “hugely inadequate.” They argue that the areas that survived the recent bushfires need better protection. Plus, when trees are cleared, it creates these little pockets of habitat that aren’t connected, making it hard for the gliders to thrive.
The EPA hasn’t said if they’ll change the rules based on this new research, but they did mention they can adjust forestry protocols if needed. They claim their current protections were made after consulting with experts, but it seems like there’s still a lot of work to do to really help these gliders.
Forestry Corporation has been under fire lately for its logging practices, which have been losing money. They say they’re marking and protecting a lot of trees, but it’s clear that more needs to be done to ensure the survival of the greater gliders.