167    If there has ever been one good reason to save Australian native forests from destruction, it must be to protect the habitat of this beautiful animal. The greater glider is a nocturnal animal that lives in the highest trees of forests, and most residents of Australia are totally unaware of its existence. It feeds almost entirely on the leaves of trees from which it obtains adequate moisture so that it rarely needs to descend from its tree top home to the ground. It uses flaps of skin between its front and rear legs to glide silently through the forest canopy. While it is not yet an endangered wildlife species, the habitat of the greater glider is continually under threat from logging, particularly the destruction of old growth forests, as it requires hollows in the trunks of trees for sleeping and breeding. 

Its lifestyle means that the greater glider is rarely seen by anyone, and even more rarely captured on film even by dedicated naturalists. This photo was captured when the old tree in which this animal had been sleeping, crashed to the ground during a violent summer thunderstorm.

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