Hi-tech nest boxes to help greater gliders

Dr Kara Youngentob with one of the hi-tech nest boxes. Photo: Jamie Kidston/ANU - The humble wildlife nest box has been given a hi-tech overhaul to help greater gliders severely impacted by Australia's bushfire disaster recover. The nest boxes are the result of a new project partnership between The Australian National University (ANU), Greening Australia and the World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia. More than 30 per cent of greater glider habitat burned in the 2019-20 bushfires, raising concerns that the species - which was already under extinction pressure - faces an even greater shortage of the tree hollows crucial to their survival. Tree hollows that are used by greater gliders can take over 100 years to form. Nest boxes can provide an alternative shelter to natural hollows but traditional models, constructed with thin walls, lack thermal protection and can become far hotter than a tree hollow, exposing greater gliders to extreme temperatures. Heat-stressed greater gliders eat less and with naturally low fat stores can perish after a few days of not feeding.