Yellow-bellied Glider (Petaurus australis, Petauridae: wrist-winged gliders) SE NSW, Australia
May I introduce one of southeastern Australia's most amazing night-time creatures - The Yellow-bellied Glider is a uncommon to rare inhabitant of forests on the coast and nearby ranges of eastern Australia. It is a hyperactive animal, about 70cm long from head to tail, and is famed for its loud 'blood-curdling' calls which it makes at night as it nosily moves about seeking sap from trees, along with blossom and the odd juicy insect.
There is minimal eye-shine with this animal and spotting them up in 30 to 40m tall trees in the dark is difficult, even when the approximate location has been pinpointed by sound. They move readily between trees by gliding.
The animals shown here were filmed 30m up in a tree alongside a road in a coastal forest on the NSW south coast. For me, this opportunity was a special moment!
Filmed with a Canon XA20, audio: Rode NTG1 via a Tascam DR100Mk2