Ok - so glad I found this forum! I live in NW Arkansas. Last fall/winter, I was out back with the dogs and was shocked by a "tiny flying... squirrel"?? I thought, no - squirrel did not make sense to me. I know there are flying squirrels but this was very small and light colored. I became absolutely amazed and watched for them from that day forward. I Googled it and the best fit is Sugar Glider. But there was NO validation that they lived "wild" in the United States. So = am I crazy? They were here all winter - only seen at night and there were 2-3 that I could clearly distinguish. Yesterday, 11/9 - my husband (who previously thougth I was seeing things) called me out to the back deck to check out the show. The night before, I had heard some "cheeping" in the trees but had not heard much noise from them last year, so disregarded. However, with my husband, there appears to be a decent small sized family - at least 3 and they are zipping around the back yard, knocking nuts out of the trees, peeping, flying from tree to tree and scurrying up to the top. So - are these truly Sugar Gliders? Can / Do they live "wild" in the U.S.? In Arkansas? How can I be sure? Sorry for the lengthy post - I am just SO excited!! If they are Gliders - should I feed? They are certainly not too concerned about me observing. And also - where do they go in the summer?!

That is hardly a lengthy post. Sugar gliders are not native to this continent. They have been introduced as pets and are slowly being introduced into the wild by irresponsible breeders and idiot human keepers. Hopefully the native wildlife will simply find them as food and all will be well, but there is a chance that they could do well in certain areas and become a dominant species or at least become a pest. This is the exact reason they are illegal in temperate areas such as California.

A good example of how an introduced species takes over and ruins things and becomes a pest is the purposeful release of brushtail possums into New Zealand. They are now extreme pests and are treated as such which is a shame as the animal itself is amazing and beautiful and even makes a good pet.

I recommend that you try to get some photos if you can manage it to share with us. If they are indeed gliders, you could try to safe capture them and keep them inside as pets as they should be kept here.

They might just be flying squirrels. I believe those are native to the states and look very similar to sugar gliders.

I was thinking the same thing. I had actually seen sugar gliders before I had seen flying squirrels and couldn't believe how much they looked a like.

Here is a useful link for comparison.

http://www.sugarglider.com/glidergossip/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=17793

Yes, we really need to see pictures. Do the best you can to take some and we'll be better able to assist you in what you need to do next. If this is indeed a glider family then they need to be captured if possible. Otherwise, they won't survive long.

I'm having the weirdest feeling of Deja Vu... like I've seen this exact thread before.... weird...


Either way.... good luck with your critters. My advise is if they ARE in fact Suggies, try and catch them and get them into good homes!

This is interesting. I have experienced the same thing with flying squirrels way before I knew anything about gliders, but this could be a possibility.

It's possible that you're seeing sugar gliders, but I think it's highly unlikely. They're probably flying squirrels, which are nocturnal and have several behaviors very similar to gliders. http://www.flyingsquirrels.com/ My brother and his family live in NW Arkansas, just outside of Yellville. I love it there, it's so doggone pretty.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback - it is great. I will try to get a photo but it is dark back there and I don't know that my camera will be able to capture them well enough but I am committed to trying! I have been doing a lot of research on the web about flying squirrels and I see the similarities. I had no idea they were so tiny! But something just tells me that they are sugar gliders..... I need a bright flood light to see them well enough. I think if I can just lay good eyes on them, I can tell. I will let you all know. And if I get a photo - it will be posted immediatly!

Thanks Again.

I just gotta add one more thing..... I just went to the www.flyingsquirrels site and what I am seeing just does not look like that. The tail is not that long, not that bushy. And I would say, what I see is smaller. And much more grey as opposed to the brown/rust color of the squirrels..... But there is definately a difference in the tail. That was bugging me - I had to clear that up!

And yes, Snusie - it IS beautiful here. Yellville is WAY North! We are not that far. We are near Morrilton - Petit Jean Mountain. I am originally from NE Ohio. Born and raised in Kent. Relocated here 2 years ago and it was quite an adjustment but I do love the scenery.... always pretty! And my back yard is teaming with wildlife. I love it!!

Put a dish of meal worms outside where you can get a good view and a good picture.

i found my 1st suggies out side i live in tennessee and yes i am 100% sure it was a suggie

I live in maryland and a few weeks ago, I got a phone call from my younger brother saying that he was in the woods and saw about 6-8 sugar gliders. He tried to take pictures of them, but it was too dark. My older brother was with him at the time and swares they were gliders and not flying squirrels, even after showing him pictures of both. He also mentioned some show on the discovery channel a little while ago about species in north america that you'd never expect to see in the woods, and said sugar gliders were featured. I have no idea, but it'd be neat to find out if it was possible.

Gosh, this is really bothering me--the thought that someone would just let suggies go free in the wild in North America is just disturbing to me. I don't know why these animals should be any different from the pythons, etc. that folks release into the wild. Geesh! People can be such idiots.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mollysmom

Gosh, this is really bothering me--the thought that someone would just let suggies go free in the wild in North America is just disturbing to me. I don't know why these animals should be any different from the pythons, etc. that folks release into the wild. Geesh! People can be such idiots.

---

I agree...but remember sometimes they do "get out" also!! I remember a thread when I first started coming here about a girl who had her suggies playing in a room and she left for a minute. When she came back they had chewed through the window screen and she never found them again. Very sad!

Mrspellis: Good luck getting a picture!! You may try to put some mealworms or fruits/veggies on a little plate and see if that entices them to come closer! You can also do a youtube search of "sugarglider noises". You might check out some recordings of their barking and see if this is what you are hearing!

Im in Arkansas and its starting to get VERY cold here. In the 30s at night. Im very sad/scared for these gliders. Could they survive if its below freezing? We get some snow and ice here too. mrspellis Im only 20 minutes from Morrilton. I would be happy to take a look or try to help you catch them before it gets any colder.

It is possible that these are gliders, but something that you said leads me to believe that these are flying squirrels. You mentioned a cheeping sound. Flyers do make a sound that we call chirping. This is not exactly like a bird but it is close enough that you would mistake it for a bird if you didn’t know flyers were in the area. Gliders don’t make that kind of noise. Normally what you would hear from a glider is a sound that resembles a car trying to start, that we call crabbing. Also from a glider you might hear barking which is similar to a small dog.

The reason that they are showing up this time of year is very simple. You have a tree with nuts in it. They move into your area when the nuts are ripe and when the food is gone they move on. You will see them at dusk and dawn when they are feeding. They are very social and probably will be cautious of you but not really fear you like most wild animals.

If you can get a good view, look at the tail. A flyers tail is short and flat kind of like a feather. A gliders tail is round and much longer than its body. The picture on that web site is an artists rendering and not really a great picture of a flying squirrel.

Thank you all for the responses! I truly appreciate the information. I still have not gotten a photo. The temps are cold here right now and I worry about them too but this would be the 2nd winter I have seen them. We had some pretty decent ice last year too so I am hopeful. I will check out the audios of both and let you know how it all shakes out. I suppose if they are flyers - that would be pretty cool too. Swithers - thanks for the offer. I may take you up on that at some point if I can't get clarity.

If they keep coming back around this time, then I'm starting to doubt they are gliders. Gliders like warm weather, they are from Australia and don't do well in the cold. So I really can't see them coming back every year when it's cold? There's no telling. I don't know anything about flying squirrels though so not sure what temps they prefer.