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An image of a great glider

When a team of Australian researchers started checking the high-tech boxes they'd installed to help save endangered greater gliders back in 2023, they weren't sure what they were going to find. The hope was that the tree-dwelling marsupials would use them for nesting—a replacement for the tree hollows they normally nest in—but no one knew whether or not the creatures would take to them.

So when Dr. Kita Ashman, Threatened Species and Climate Adaptation Ecologist at WWF-Australia, found a glider in the second box she checked, she was thrilled.

"I just burst into tears, I was so surprised and so happy," she told ABC News Australia.

Greater gliders are nocturnal marsupials that live in old-growth forests of eastern Australia. They have large ears, fluffy fur, long tails, and they can glide up to 100 meters at a time. The species is only found in Australia.

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"I grew up looking at greater gliders all throughout the Dandenong Ranges. So they have a really special place in my heart," said Dr. Ashman told ANU.

The special nesting boxes were designed and created through a partnership between Australian National University (ANU), Greening Australia and the World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia after 2019-2020 bushfires destroyed a third of the greater gliders' remaining habitat. The tree hollows that greater gliders rely on to nest can take over 100 years to form, according to ANU, so it's not like they can just find some new trees to live in when their homes are destroyed.

Nesting boxes that are commonly used for wildlife aren't a good fit for greater gliders, as the thin walls and lack of thermal protection can result in gliders overheating. (Heat-stressed gliders will slow their eating, which can be life-threatening, according to ANU.) The high-tech boxes in this project are insulated and include a non-toxic, heat-reflective, fire-resistant coating to keep gliders safe.

"I've affectionately been calling this design the Goldilocks box because we hope it will keep greater gliders not too hot and not too cold and will help to increase the species' resilience in a changing climate," Ashman said in July 2022.

"Producing and installing high-quality nest boxes is costly," added ANU research fellow Dr. Kara Youngentob, "so this project is very important because it will help us understand if expensive interventions like nest boxes are the best use of funding in our urgent mission to save greater gliders."

It appears that their efforts are paying off.

"What we didn't know was whether these boxes worked and whether they have an impact on the glider population," Dr. Youngentob told ABC News Australia. "Much to our delight, within a few months of them going up they are already being used by gliders, so we know the individuals themselves like them and use them."

According to Youngentob, greater gliders are the largest gliding marsupial at risk of extinction. More than 200 nesting boxes have been installed in Victoria's East Gippsland and in Tallaganda National Park in New South Wales. Youngentob told ABC News Australia that this project will help researchers learn more about how many of the species are left in the wild.

The quiet, nocturnal marsupial faces threats from climate change and deforestation in addition to the wildfires that ravaged Australia in 2020. Their population has fallen by 80% in the past 20 years and the species has maintained an endangered status since July of 2022.

greater gliders, great gliders endangered, australian animals, endangered animals, endangered australian animals, world wildlife fundAn image of two greater glider on a treePhoto credit: Canva

"They're a treasure for this country." Dr. Youngentob told ANU. "And I think the more people know about them, the more that they will fall in love with them and want to protect them too."

This article originally appeared two years ago

The Spix's macaw is a pretty dope bird.

Photo by Patrick Pleul/Getty Images.


Yes, its face is permanently fixed in one of those "I'm always watching" stares.

You. You know. Photo by Patrick Pleul/Getty Images.

Yes, it has creepy-looking babies.

Photo by Patrick Pleul/Getty Images.

But it's a pretty chill and harmless bird — unless you're a seed or a nut. Spix's macaws mate for life and their courtship rituals can last years. And they're generally majestic as hell.

Photo by Patrick Pleul/Getty Images.

The last time someone saw one in the wild was in 2000.

Since then, researchers have assumed that humans did to the species what humans do best: killed off all but the few hundred of them we keep in cages for our amusement.

That is ... until June, when footage of a Spix's macaw mid-flight was taken by a 16-year-old and confirmed by experts soon thereafter.

Birds have been getting the short end of the stick for at least the last 500 years, at least when it comes to extinction rates.

Birds. Photo by Violetta/Pixabay.

According to a BirdLife International analysis, nearly 150 species of birds have gone extinct since 1500, with an estimated 22 of those extinctions occurring in the last 50 years.

Which makes the discovery of a wild Spix's macaw a rare spot of good news for the larger avian-verse. Researchers hope that observing the bird in its natural habitat will give them insight into how to revive the already seriously endangered species.

Needless to say, scientists are super psyched to have seen one in the wild, and so are members of the local community, for whom the Spix's macaw is a major source of pride.

Pedro Devely, CEO of SAVE Brazil, a conservation group, explained why the bird's reappearance is especially meaningful to residents of Curaca, Brazil — where the footage was taken — in an interview with NPR:

"The Spix's Macaw is kind of a symbol of the city, and the local community is really proud of the existence of the Spix's Macaw there. And when the Spix's Macaw disappeared in 2000, it was kind of traumatic for them. Because they lost the symbol of the city, something really unique. And since then there has been a big expectation for the return of the Spix's Macaw. They are really waiting for that."

We've thrown a lot at this little bird.

Deforestation, habitat destruction, and forced captivity ain't nothing to sneeze at.

Yet, miraculously, despite all that, Dr. Ian Malcolm's famous adage still holds true:

GIF from "Jurassic Park."

At least for one lucky parrot species.

Fly, Spix's macaw. Fly!

Image via BirdLife International/YouTube.

Fly free and never look back!

Family

7 ways thinking like a tiger can help you start your week right.

It's the beginning of a new week and you may be feeling kind of bleh, but channeling your inner tiger can help you start off the right foot.

Today is not a day to whimper — today is a day to roar with delight! According to the World Wildlife Fun and the Global Tiger Forum, tiger populations are finallygoing up after over 100 years of decline.


This puts us at about 3,900 wild tigers — about 700 more than the 2010 estimate.


Seven tiger-inspired things to remember this week that'll help you succeed at work and in life:

1. Don't let others talk over you. Raise your voice and be heard!

Photo by China Photos/Getty Images.

You know who ignores a tiger? You know who interrupts a tiger during a work meeting? No one, that's who! If you were a tiger, your roar would be heard nearly two miles away.

2. Don't be afraid to show off your stripes — the things that make you unique!

Image from J. Patrick Fischer/Wikimedia Commons.

Every tiger's stripes are unique — no two are alike! You shouldn't feel the need to hide your stripes either. Customize your workspace with pictures of your family or favorite hobby. Find cool wallpapers or desktop apps like Rainmeter to make your desktop your own.

3. If you've got a problem, jump right in and start swimming.

Photo by Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty Images.

Tigers aren't scared of water. In fact, they're basically at home in it and can swim for miles!

What does this mean for you? If you're got a job or assignment, don't procrastinate. If it feels too large, find a small part of it you can do now and try working on it for just 10 or 20 minutes. If you can keep doing that, no problem is too big (or too wet) for you.

4. Don't let others take advantage of you. Own your space.

Image via Paul Mannix/Wikimedia Commons.

Someone asking to borrow your stapler or eyeing your lunch again? Tigers can claim more than 200 square miles as territory. What's yours is yours. Don't be afraid to let people know it or be afraid to say no (politely, of course). If you do loan something out, set clear expectations of when you want it back.

5. Be social! But respect the space and time you need to chill out.

Image via Paul Mannix/Wikimedia Commons.

Tigers have their own territories and tend to live on their own but do often roam larger areas as well, which means they can keep track of what their neighbors are doing.

"Solitary tigers actually have a rich social life; they just prefer to socialize from a distance," says the National Zoo's website.

You can balance your private and social life as well. Set time limits for social media. Feel free to turn your Slack or Gchat status to away or busy (or invisible!). You'll be more productive, and it'll mean that when you do meet up with your friends, you can leave work at work and focus on them.

6. If you don't succeed at first, don't give up. Keep trying until you get it right.

Image from China's Tiger/Wikimedia Commons.

Even though tigers are powerful hunters, only about 1 in every 10 hunts is successful. That's OK, though, because does the tiger give up? No! So don't get discouraged. Take a break, relax, analyze what went wrong, and try again.

And when a tiger succeeds, they know how to make the most of a good thing, chowing down on up to 90 pounds of food in one sitting. You should savor your victories as well, after all, you've earned them!

7. Finally: Take your sleep seriously.

Image from Ltshears/Wikimedia Commons.

If you've been working like a tiger, you've also got to take care of yourself like one. After all, tigers can sleep over 16 hours a day.

Make sure you're getting a healthy amount of sleep each night, set specific bedtimes, don't drink caffeine in the evening, and — if you're feeling really wild — remove all screens from your bedroom. Your sleep is precious, and you need every minute of it.

So channel your inner tiger this week and spread the good news!

Tigers are still endangered and disappearing in some areas, but the increased numbers are a giant sign of how amazing tigers are and how much people want to keep them around!

In late March 2016, World Wildlife Fund researchers celebrated the reappearance of the incredibly rare Sumatran rhino.

Image from International Rhino Foundation/WIkimedia Commons.


On March 12, 2016, a female Sumatran rhino was captured in a pit trap in the East Kalimantan province of Indonesian Borneo. It was the first time in 40 years that one had been seen in the flesh.

The World Wildlife Fund called her story a "new hope."

Just one month later, the celebration ended abruptly when the captured Sumatran rhino, named Najaq, has died.


A leg infection seems to have been the cause of death, although a post-mortem is still being conducted as of this writing.

Though Najaq's death is sad, there is good news to share.

For a long time, it was thought there were no more Sumatran rhinos in Kalimantan. There were only a small population on the Malaysian side of the island (declared extinct in 2015), so many people thought these animals were just about gone forever.

But we were wrong. And that's very, very good.

Unlike its more sparsely coiffed cousins, the Sumatran rhino is covered in hair. Image from Ltshears/Wikimedia Commons.

Sumatran rhinos are one of the most endangered large animals on the planet. There are estimated to be fewer than 100 Sumatran rhinos left in the wild.

In fact, up until 2013, when a World Wildlife Fund team found rhino footprints in the jungle (and managed to photograph a Sumatran rhino via an automatic camera trap), the species was considered extinct in Kalimantan.

We now know that at least 15 Sumatran rhinos still exist in Borneo.

15 is not a lot, but for an animal thought to be gone, it's a remarkable number.

Even better — we know how save them.

Sumatran rhinos, like many species in Borneo, are threatened by both poachers and habitat loss. They need the forests and jungles to survive, but many wild places are being destroyed to make room for mining, plantations, and logging operations.


This land was cleared for a palm oil plantation in Malaysian Borneo. Image from T. R. Shankar Raman/Wikimedia Commons.

By creating sanctuaries for these animals we can give them the homes they need to survive.

Sanctuaries like Way Kamblas National Park, for instance. Way Kamblas is a protected area in Sumatran Indonesia that is home to a number of Sumatran rhinos that are protected by their own anti-poaching squad.

A worker and Rosa the rhino, who was transported to Way Kamblas to help establish a breeding population. Image via Bay Ismoyo/AFP/Getty Images.

What's more, by supporting the use of sustainable palm oil (which is used in more products you every day than you can even imagine), which many companies are already doing, we can help protect the forests outside of these designated sanctuaries.

Najaq's death is sad, but we're being given an incredible opportunity to save a species once thought to be lost.

“We now have proof that a species once thought extinct in Kalimantan still roams the forests, and we will now strengthen our efforts to protect this extraordinary species,”said Dr. Efransjah, CEO of WWF-Indonesia, when they found Najaq in the pit trap.


Rosa the rhino in the Way Kambas Sanctuary. Image from Willem v Strien/Flickr.

Najaq may have died, but her life truly did give a new hope to the preservation of her species.

We have the opportunity. We know what to do. We just need to act.