Marsupial Spotlight: Sugar Glider

Sugar gliders are a totally cute marsupial with a totally cute name. They are also one of the more popular creatures in Australia, so this will be a fun spotlight. This marsupial is actually capable of flight! They glide using underarm flaps similar to the flying squirrels. In fact, much of their behavior is very similar to the flying squirrel, yet they are not related to them at all. Hey, why not? It's just more to love in the world.

The sugar glider is very small being only 13 inches from head to tail tip. The most they will ever weigh is 140 grams--115 grams for the females. Another interesting aspect of this cute, little thing is it's swift heart rate--up to 200 beats per minute. Human beings only go as high as about 100.

Sugar gliders are one of a number of gliding possums from Australia. They will climb up to a high branch of a tree where they will make a launch. Once they are in the air, they can glide safely for about 165 feet. They do rapidly drop lower and lower the more they glide at a rate of 3 feet for every 6 feet traveled. This is sufficient enough to gain a lot of ground very quickly.

Their eyes are set apart which may look a little weird, but they are actually set that way to assist with triangulating between launch and landing locations. That's right: they work it out in their heads before take off. The reason they glide at all is because hunting around for food is very energy consuming of itself. Gliding is a very low energy maneuver, and it lessens the stress while they search for food below. These marsupials are omnivores. They love insects the most, but they do have an intense sweet tooth which accounts for their adorable name.

Although some sugar gliders can be loners, the majority of them are very social. They form up into groups that are ruled by two dominant males. These two males will fight off any strangers, but they will never, ever fight each other. They even share food with one another. This arrangement is referred to as male co-domination, and it struck me as peculiar.

Once mated, the female sugar glider will only have one or two babies per litter. Two is far more common. That may not seem like much, but the gestation period of a sugar glider is a very shocking 17 days. Needless to say, they are under no threat of extinction. The females also have pouches, and I just know you must be wondering if they can still fly while carrying young. The answer is a resounding yes! They most certainly can continue to fly with babies in their pouch. There is even a strong layer of tissue that separate the children in the pouch called a septum. This prevents them from being hurt during the landing.

Sugar gliders also make wonderful pets. What you may not expect is that they are super popular in the US. Sugar gliders are mass bred here for that very reason; however, if you live in California, Hawaii, or Alaska, you are not allowed to keep one.

Sugar gliders are in fiction but not very often as main characters. They are generally cute back-up characters that are there to be endearing. Because of this, I don't have any works to reference. What I can tell from studying them is that a sugar glider as a main character would be very hyper and perhaps a little nervous. They would always want something to do--a quest, an errand, something they can do for someone. They could easily make wonderful mailmen! As long as they are keeping busy, they will enjoy themselves. I can't imagine a sugar glider being lazy--not with a heart rate like that.

Just look at these guys! They are adorable! I would even go so far as to say that they are even cuter than the flying squirrels. Apologies to any squirrels reading this, but that's just how I see it. They are tiny, little busy bodies that work hard to get things done. They are also very cute. Did I mention that they were cute?! Just look at them and decide for yourselves.

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