Today is World Wildlife Day – a day to celebrate and raise awareness for the amazing flora and fauna on this great planet Earth.
We are proud to announce today that one of Australia’s cutest wildlife, a Mahogany Glider was born here at Wildlife Habitat.
Lilly (pictured), was born to Fern and Lumholtz towards to the end of 2015, and has been enrapturing her wildlife keepers and carers ever since.
Mahogany Gliders are listed as endangered nationally, and Wildlife Habitat is assisting with the management of the species through a collaborative program with Zoo Aquarium Association (ZAA) institutions.
The population management program aims to sustain this species in captivity to ensure its ongoing sustainability into the future.
Our General Manager, Clare Anderson comments that the park is a long-time supporter of the program. “We have been involved with the ZAA program since 2009, and have successfully raised 6 Mahogany Glider babies to add to the ZAA collection, as well as become an official part of the breeding program,’ she said.
“The arrival of Lilly increases the number of Mahogany Gliders in residence to 5 – we currently have 1 male, 3 females, and now Lilly.”
The Mahogany Glider, originally discovered in 1883, is found in only a small pocket of North Queensland. The records for the species laid unnoticed for more than 100 years by science before being rediscovered in 1989.
It is one of Australia’s most threatened mammals and therefore raising awareness for this gorgeous creature on World Wildlife Day is important; continued management of the species is required to prevent their decline towards extinction.
What can you do on World Wildlife Day?
Learn more about conservation. Small things like recycling and putting your rubbish where it belongs are 2 small steps you can take towards making our world a better place for our animals and plants.
