Petaurus norfolcensis
Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The squirrel glider (Petaurus norfolcensis) is a nocturnal gliding possum and is one of the wrist-winged gliders of the genus Petaurus. The home range of this species extends from Bordertown near the South Australia/Victorian Border, through south-eastern Australia to northern Queensland. It was thought to be extinct in South Australia since 1939, until a genetic test confirmed they still inhabited the area.
In south-eastern Australia the squirrel glider lives in the dry sclerophyll forest and woodlands, whilst in Queensland they occupy a wetter eucalypt forest. The squirrel glider will make a den in a hollow tree and line it with leaves. Here it will sleep, usually living in groups of one male, two females and their offspring.
Like most of the wrist-winged gliders, the squirrel glider is endemic to Australia. It is about twice the size of the related sugar glider (P. breviceps), with a body that is 18–23 cm long and a tail measuring 22–33 cm. It weighs around 230g or 0.5 lbs and has blue-grey or brown-grey fur on its back and a white belly. The end of the tail is black and there is a black stripe from the eyes to the middle of the back. They have a flying... Wikipedia →
Call0:34
Australia · 2018
© Marc Anderson · XC1077430 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Recording0:48
Australia · 2025
© Andrew Rock · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:52
Australia · 2025
© Kym Rawson · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brisbane | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sydney Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Adelaide Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Byron Bay Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Squirrel Glider sighting in Brisbane on a given day, based on 58 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 10th most-seen of the 22 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Squirrel Glider in Brisbane on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Squirrel Glider sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
Only Brisbane, in our data
Brisbane is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Squirrel Glider sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Squirrel Glider is recorded against all the mammals logged in Brisbane (58 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
