Karmactive Staff
The world’s most famous endangered greater gliders, Pip and Milo, have welcomed a new joey that first poked its head out of Pip’s pouch on September 4, 2025. The timing coincided with National Threatened Species Day on September 7, giving Australians something to celebrate amid concerning wildlife decline statistics.
The glider family lives in a secret location in Tallaganda, NSW, where a 24/7 livestream broadcasts from inside their tree hollow. Set up by Australian National University scientist Dr. Ana Gracanin with support from WWF-Australia, the camera offers unprecedented access to these elusive nocturnal marsupials.
“It’s wonderful to see Pip raising another joey – her third in a row since I began monitoring this tree hollow,” said Dr. Gracanin. “That’s a strong sign she has the food and secure shelter she needs each year to breed successfully.”
The livestream has already attracted viewers from ten countries, including Australia, United Kingdom, United States, Germany, and Canada. What makes this project particularly valuable is how it’s revealing previously undocumented behaviors of greater gliders, challenging scientific assumptions.
Earlier in 2025, the livestream captured the male glider, Milo, using his tail to carry eucalyptus stems into the hollow to feed their previous joey, Brimi. This observation challenges the long-held belief that greater glider tails are non-prehensile (unable to grasp objects). “Through the livestream we’ve learnt so much about glider behaviour and social life,” said Dr. Gracanin. The footage has shown greater gliders are more social than previously thought, with four to five gliders sometimes sharing a single hollow in other parts of Tallaganda.
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These insights strengthen conservation arguments as greater glider populations have crashed by up to 80% over the past two decades. The species was listed as endangered in 2022, with habitat destruction from native forest logging cited as a primary threat.
“Every birth of an endangered greater glider is a reason to rejoice because their numbers have crashed by as much as 80% in some places,” said Dr. Kita Ashman, conservation scientist with WWF-Australia. “Native forest logging of greater glider habitat in state forests is one of the causes of their decline.”
Greater gliders, Australia’s largest gliding marsupials, depend entirely on large hollows in old trees for shelter and breeding. These hollows can take up to 250 years to form naturally, making them irreplaceable resources for wildlife.
A joey typically remains in its mother’s pouch for about four months before gradually becoming independent at around ten months of age. This timeline gives viewers plenty of opportunities to witness the new joey’s development in the coming months.
The livestream project has been supported by several conservation organizations, including National Parks Association NSW, Wilderness Australia, and Social Justice Advocates of the Sapphire Coast. WWF-Australia has launched a petition calling for an end to native forest logging and a transition to sustainable plantation timber.
For those wanting to witness these remarkable animals, the livestream provides a window into their world while also highlighting the urgent need for stronger habitat protection measures to ensure the survival of greater gliders for future generations.
