current+sugar+glider-+josh+davies


 * __sugar glider- josh davies__**



The sugar glider lives in northern and eastern Australia (Queensland, northern territories, NSW, ACT and victoria) and nearby countries (Papa New Guinea and Tasmania). They live in forests, although they most like more open forests so they can glide around. Sugar gliders usually stay in groups usually of about 15-20, and as do many groups they have a dominant male, who has the role of marking their territory. Finally due to the winter taking out much of its food it has been found hibernating.
 * __Adaptation:__**
 * 1) A long membrane connecting the feet to the wrists. The sugar glider has gained these to help them fly, this helps them survive because then they don’t have to be on the ground for too long whilst predators are around. They are small creatures so they do not need too much to keep them up. This membrane of skin acts like a parachute, it spreads its arms and legs to stretch the skin and catches air under it.
 * 2) It’s tail has shortened and become furry help it direction where it is jumping. The old tail from the ptilodus had no hair and was longer, the reason the sugar gliders to evolve like this is so that if they jump in one direction and a predator appears at the landing spot, it can slightly change the area it will land.
 * 3) It has also shrunk in size from its ancestor the Ptilodus, although they have not shrunk by much it has made a difference to how they survived. They shrunk so that they could hide in more places, although scientists believed that they had similar life styles, of living in trees.
 * 4) Although it has shrunk its ears have grown in comparison to its size, the reason for this is so it can hear predators trying to sneak up on it and can fly or climb away. Another reason for this is so that they can hunt prey easier. Their diet consists of insects, plants and trees.
 * 5) Finally they have quite unique mouths, due to the fact that their throat is very skinny, so they have several adaptations to do with their teeth, gums, saliva and tongue. To get the right amount of nutrition they must utilize what evolution has given them. Their lower front teeth are sharp to scrape of bark so they can get to the sap, when the gliders are not using these teeth the gums actually retract them into the tissue. Also their salivary gland works overtime to give the animal enough saliva to make the sap like water. The final part that helps the sugar glider is a very long tongue to help it get food. Later in life they develop a more wide mouth to get enough nutrition into their body.
 * __Environment and areas:__**

The main predators that were introduced to the environment are dogs, cats and even wolves, although these are not the only types of predators to this little creature. There are also kookaburras, quokkas, owls and goanna’s. The reason they act as food to so many animals is that they are small but also they all nest together so basically if you find one then you can find up to 20 fairly easily. The final large predator of sugar gliders are actually humans, we slowly destroy their homes without knowing. Although the sugar glider is not extinct or close to being extinct, sooner or later it will have nowhere to make their home and will quickly become extinct.
 * __Predators:__**

Due to the skinny throat of a young sugar glider they find it hard to swallow whole small animals, so using their teeth they ply the bark of the tree to make it release sap. Although even the sap it too solid to go down its throat, so it salivary glands works over time to dilute the thick sap so it can slide down the sugar gliders throat. Although once it matures (after about 12 weeks) it can swallow more whole things (i.e. fruits, vegetables and the occasional insect). Although given the opportunity it will eat the odd mouse or small mammal. The climate that sugar gliders live in differs a lot, the specific type of glider has adapted to the place it lives (i.e. colder and wetter in Tasmania compared to Queensland northern territories). You will usually find these marsupials where eucalypt trees or acacia gum plants and trees that they can burrow into easily.
 * __Prey__**
 * __Climate/ weather:__**