Sugar glider

Sugar glider is a marsupial mammal, native to Australia.
They earned their name from their love of sweet things such as nectar and flowers (and insects too) and their ability to glide through the air between trees.
They are scientifically called Petaurus breviceps, "short-headed rope-dancer" because of their acrobatic skill!

Original drawing of Sugar glider

I drew her at Melbourne Museum a while back and finally printed her yesterday.
She has large eyes to help see at night and swiveling ears to help locate prey in the dark.
I'm pretty sure that this sugar glider is female as male has a bald spot on forehead which acts as scent gland.

detail

I heard they are popular domesticated exotic pet around the world, especially in the US.
I completely understand it as I felt like taking her home with me even though she wasn't alive.
But.. will they be able to glide through the air like they do in their natural habitat in someone's house...?

detail

 I would like to thank Wayne Longmore, curator at Melbourne Museum for your generosity in letting me work in the collection room and Tim Lane, artist and technician at Trinity Grammar School for helping me mix lovely colours and print like I was a master printer until late at night.

More information on this print is on my website.