Sometimes it is just sad to be on the WILVOS 5441 6200 Hotline. Many species are so seriously impacted by the removal of just one tree. The people on the ground don’t see those hollows or crevices that are homes to so many of our native animals. There may be a number of glider families, but a feathertail glider looks no bigger than a moth if gliding out of the tree.
This week another two little squirrel glider joeys came in after their mother was a victim of yet another cat attack. It has been decades since WILVOS have seen so many calls come through the Hotline, or from vets and wildlife hospitals, for orphaned and injured gliders. Tragically, the majority of the live nineteen squirrel glider orphans have come in as single animals. That means the mother and the sibling are dead – over 30 dead squirrel gliders in the space of months. Fortunately, all joeys have survived, even the tiny ones. WILVO carer, Samantha, is in need of some sleep!
This is an indication that something horrific is happening to our environment. It shouldn’t be surprising. Wildlife are not allowed to be released in National Parks in Queensland, yet logging is allowed. These are not saplings they are logging – they are apartment filled trees that have taken decades to get to that size.
On the residential side, it is not only housing developments that destroy habitat. A landholder decides a tree is in an inconvenient spot and decides to cut it down. One tree – nothing lives there!?! Take another look. Those hidden hollows may contain sugar, squirrel and feathertail gliders, possums, insects, reptiles, and numerous bird species. Bird nests are hidden from predators. Of course they don’t want us to see the eggs and chicks.
Please check it is necessary before removing a tree. Those animals are living in our hot ceilings by necessity, not by choice.
Donna Brennan Wildlife Volunteers Assoc Inc (WILVOS) PO Box 4805 Sunshine Coast Mail Centre Q 4560 PH 5441 6200 www.wilvos.org.au