Biofuel powers biggest flying mammal in Oz

"If you're wandering around in an Australian forest and see a giant marsupial flying toward you, you'd be forgiven for thinking that someone had spiked your grog. In fact you may be witnessing the flight – technically the glide – of the country's largest gliding mammal, an unusual marsupial called the greater glider.

To find one, go out into the forests of south-east Australia at the dead of night and shine a powerful torch into the trees. You may see the eyes of a greater glider, glowing in the torch's beam – the trick is to be able to recognise it purely by the spacing and colour of the eyes, which is all you are likely to see.

There are plenty of gliding mammals in the world, but the greater glider is one of the largest – albeit not quite as big as the south Asian woolly flying squirrel. It is not closely related to any of these other gliders, however: it is the sole airborne member of the ringtailed possum family.

Populous and widespread, the greater glider is nevertheless in great danger. A team of researchers who have tracked the species since 1996 have found that its numbers are in steep decline. They say the greater glider is an example of a oft-encountered problem: species that are common but nevertheless vulnerable."
via New Scientist/continue reading