Adopt ‘Sugar’ Cane

Species: Sugar Glider

Late one evening, the phone rang with urgency, a woman’s trembling voice on the line. Her cat had come inside with what she first thought was a toy. But when she looked closer, dismay gripped her, it was a tiny, helpless sugar glider.

Native wildlife and domestic pets are a deadly mix. Even when there are no visible injuries, the saliva of cats and dogs can be lethal to wildlife, requiring immediate antibiotics to fight off deadly infections. Worse still, there was no telling where the cat had snatched this baby from, its nest lost forever in the night. Reuniting him with his family was impossible.

When Cane arrived in our care, he was uninjured but heartbreakingly small, approximately 2 months old, weighing just 15 grams, his tiny body was only slightly larger than a golf ball. His eyes were still closed, tufts of soft fur covering his fragile body. We placed him gently in the humidicrib, a warm, controlled environment that mimics the safety of his mother’s pouch. We fed him his special milk formula throughout the day, each tiny feed a lifeline, as we witnessed his strength progress and his spirit begin to shine. It became his world for weeks on end. He was so small he would curl up in the palm of a hand, barely more than a living breath. But he was hungry for life. Watching him feed, seeing the spark of will in him, it drove us forward with fierce determination.

As he grew stronger, he moved into a small, snake-proof cage, every detail mattered with gliders and snakes both able to slip through the tiniest gaps. We continued to feed him his milk, blending in a special bug mix to give him the vital protein he needed, and carefully introduced a variety of insects into his diet, to ensure he had all the nourishment he needed to grow strong and healthy. Each day we foraged for fresh eucalyptus, nectar-rich blossoms, and pollen-laden flowers to mimic the wild diet he deserved. Each branch placed in his cage wasn’t just food. It was a promise that he would remember what it meant to be wild.

A lone glider is a sad creature, deeply social and often born as twins, he needed more than food, he needed kin. Soon we welcomed ‘Honey’, another rescued glider, and everything changed as they snuggled, shared food, and taught each other to leap and glide, practicing the soaring acrobatics they would one day perform under the canopy.

Watching them grow side by side, transforming from tiny, blind, vulnerable babies into sleek, wide-eyed little flyers was nothing short of magic. This is why we do what we do. Because every life, no matter how small, matters. And because even when the wild is pushed to the edge, we can still fight to give these precious creatures a second chance at freedom.