Giant flying squirrel

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That seems to be always aware that there are such, but shop more - still a wonder of nature.

Giant flying squirrel - Petaurista petaurista - extended to the territory of the eastern borders of Afghanistan to the island of Java and from Kashmir, Taiwan and southern China to Sri Lanka. A large population lives in the forest areas of Pakistan. Giant flying squirrel suits nests in the hollows of trees found in the dense forest areas. It has a distinctive, densely covered with a membrane that runs from the front to the rear limbs, skinfold also connects the base of the tail and legs. Membrane forms the muscular tissue, which may optionally be reduced, helping to control the direction and duration of the planning.

At the end of the membrane has a large spike that holds it. Flying squirrel Petaurista petaurista has an expressive appearance: large eyes and mahogany-red color fur, shades of which may vary from zavismosti distribution range of the species. As a relative of the squirrel, giant flying squirrel differs from them by its size - the length of the body with the head of an average of 398 mm, tail length 422 mm. Five toes on the hind paw and four - on the front curves have sharp claws.





P. petaurista flying squirrel is nocturnal, its reproduction of the data is very small. It is known that in a litter of 2-3 young, which the female feeds the milk for two and a half months. Reproduction takes place twice a year, the young are born at the beginning of March and the beginning of August. Life expectancy in the conditions of detention is 16 years. Giant flying squirrels climb trees well and had to hover in the air, the flight range can be up to 75 meters. They jump from the upper branches of trees, jumping control the direction of planning, tensing and relaxing the muscles of the diaphragm. During the stay, they clamp the membrane to the body.




Giant flying squirrels are solitary, active at night, in the evening announce the neighborhood with their cries. Their low monotone cries like a moan, have a communicative value during the mating season. Despite the fact that the winters are cold, flying squirrels do not hibernate, but they may migrate to areas where food resources are more abundant.

Giant flying squirrel eats pine cones, wood buds, leaves, young shoots, according to the season - the fruits and nuts. In the conditions of flying squirrels get raisins and nuts, but refuse of browse and deciduous feed. Locals hunt flying squirrels because of the fur, which is sold in the markets, especially in Murree and Rawalpindi. Giant flying squirrel is widespread within their range, its population is declining due to deforestation. Key Persecutors - it marten marten and Bengal cat who prey on sleeping flying squirrels.

In one leap large marsupial flying squirrel can fly a distance of about 100 m, and in a few bounds, "landing" on the trees for free only for a moment, to immediately push - and more than a mile! In flight, unlike other mammals planning, this animal holds forelegs bent at the elbows, holding the forearm forward and taking his hand under her chin. Balancing long tail, giant marsupials flying squirrels running around in the most highly placed branches of eucalyptus trees with such dexterity that they are sometimes referred to as "rope-dancer."

Giant marsupial flying squirrels live in the coastal areas of south-eastern Australia, where inhabit dry eucalyptus forests with so loved by them species Eucalyptus radiata and E. viminalis. The fact that they eat, like all well-known koala, only eucalyptus leaves, buds and bark.

In addition, the tall eucalyptus flying squirrels find their suitable hollows for nests, which is carried out during daylight hours. Flying squirrel is well able to equip a cozy place to stay. To do this, it collects the same aromatic leaves of eucalyptus and carries them into the hollow with the help of the tail.

Females giant marsupial flying squirrels breed only once a year and bring all to a single calf. Baby is born after one month of pregnancy, it is tiny and underdeveloped, as in other marsupials. 6 months to see it "matures" in deep maternal bag, and then for about 4 months, sitting at my mom's back and so is traveling through the night forest. Fully independent cub becomes only at the age of 10-13 months, and reach sexual maturity by about two years. Living a giant marsupial flying squirrels for a long time - about 15 years, if not only the fate prepared for them surprises, what could be a meeting with dangerous predators or irrational human activities. An example of the latter can serve as an experiment, produced more than 70 years ago, in 1932 in Tumut, 100 km from Canberra. Then vast eucalyptus forests in these areas have been cut down, and replaced by one landing imported from USA radiata pine (Pinus radiata). Natural habitat of the pine limited to a few tens of acres in California and one of the nearby islands, but at the beginning of the XX century. it was brought to Australia and New Zealand. It should be noted that in the book "Life of Plants" (ie. 4), which was published in 1978, said that the radiata pine was supposedly very promising for these places and that "quite peculiar fauna of Australia is perfectly adapted to the pine forests in which you can see kangaroos, and cockatiels ... ". So, now we can say with certainty that the fauna of Australia are not adapted to these coniferous forests. Replacing eucalyptus pine thicket was the cause of death of the mass of the animals whose lives and livelihoods have been associated with indigenous eucalyptus forests. Not adapted to life in the pine and giant marsupial flying squirrels. However, they have not disappeared completely, and preserved in small areas of eucalyptus forest left of 70 000 ha planted radiata pine. These "patches" survived less than two hundred, and they were salutary islands for many animals.

It should be noted that in general the giant marsupial flying squirrels - being sedentary. When they have to move, they do it smartly and quickly, but generally prefer the quiet life, good food leaves of the tree does not require much effort to search for food. Even at night marsupial flying squirrels are up only a minimal amount of time, and the rest is carried out in a state of rest, digesting harder to digest eucalyptus leaves.

Maybe it is because of the love of the quiet life the giant marsupial flying squirrels did not tend to leave their homes, even if there there were irreversible and catastrophic changes, as happened in Tumut ... When eucalyptus forests cut down, a huge set of giant marsupial flying squirrels were killed. This mass death of noted scholar Tyndale-Biscoe Hug. He also collected a lot of skins and skulls of dead giant marsupial flying squirrels and has given their fees for many museums in Australia. Scientist has supplied them a copy of each collected more label indicating the exact place where the animal was found. It's been quite a few years, and now scientists are extremely grateful to this researcher. Thanks to his duties in the museums are stored skins and skulls of giant marsupial flying squirrels from which to isolate and analyze DNA preservation. And as known and the exact places where dead animals lived, it is possible to reconstruct the genetic structure of populations of the marsupial flying squirrels, which existed in the area before cutting Tumut eucalyptus forests or shortly thereafter.

In order to determine the nature of the changes required for scientists to determine the structure and the currently existing populations. Animals for genetic studies not only caught in the "eucalypt patches" of pine, but also in being outside of the large volumes of eucalyptus forests, inhabited by a large population of giant marsupial flying squirrels.

A little stop on the way to catch the giant marsupial flying squirrels. To obtain a DNA sample just a few drops of blood or a small piece of tissue. But the animals did not burn with the desire to fall into the hands of scientists. Most of the time they spend at the very tops of the eucalyptus trees and placed traps caught very rarely. Typically, scholars have noticed the animal, shoot at the branch on which it is located. With falling branches flying squirrel jumping at the last moment, at the height of 6.5 m from the ground, and then a scientist has a good chance to catch it. Caught animal put in a special bag, sleeping pills and an injection while flying squirrel sleeps, take a sample of blood and put on animal radioosheynik. With it in the future it will be possible to trace the movement of flying squirrels and locate its nest.

Combination of the results of radio-tracking and genetic analysis led to the conclusion that the giant marsupial flying squirrels that live in small "patches of eucalyptus" of solid pine array, have smaller home ranges than the animals that live in the "patches" a larger area or in a continuous Eucalyptus forest.

In addition, animals from one eucalyptus island are a close personal relationship with each other, so as to meet with their counterparts from other islands is difficult for them. However, among the flying squirrel-couch potatoes occasionally come across and travel lovers, so that the exchange of genes between arisen micropopulations still does not stop completely. But this exchange is so weak that the danger of inbreeding - the adverse effects of inbreeding - continues to constantly threaten marsupial flying squirrel. That's such a sad story from the life of the largest animals of the planning group of marsupials.