It looks like a cross between a koala and a possum – and it’s in serious trouble, Australian conservationists say.

There is “horrendous evidence” of logging near endangered transport links, conservationists say as they call on the Queensland government to act quickly on a promise to create a park recreation will protect species.

Volunteers used drones in July to cut down trees in St Mary’s County Forest near Maryborough, about three miles from where the planes were seen.

It comes after the Miles government in June promised to turn 50,000-60,000 hectares of “environmental value” in the area into the Greater Glider Forest national park.

The commitment was detailed in the terms of use for the new timber industry plan, but did not include maps of the area to be protected.

Nicky Moffat, campaigner for the Queensland Fisheries Conservation Council, said the government needed to act quickly to stop logging in the area.

“These areas must be removed from the logging schedule. You cannot cut them down and put them in a conservation park,” he said.

Moffat said the giant gliders were “fascinating” and considered a “kind of precious stone” – meaning that the more successful the gliders were, the more they were seen as a sign of a healthy environment.

“It is the biggest possum in the world. It’s a meter long… It has this huge floppy tail. It has big floppy ears. It looks like a cross between a koala and a possum,” he said.

Moffat said St Mary’s County Forest was a priority for the park, especially when volunteers saw seven large aircraft in the forest overnight.

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after the news release

The council is calling for the protection of all wetlands on state-owned land and a commitment to help with the funding of new national parks and protected areas that are committed to reviving these species.

While not directly responding to the allegations, a Queensland government spokesman said the commitment to create a large glider park was based on the recommendation of the conservation council and experts were pointing to the first area of ​​protection.

“This is a great addition to help save giant gliders and many other species in these areas,” they said. “That’s in addition to the 20,000 acres of state forest in [south-east Queensland] it is in the process of being dedicated as a national and conservation park.”

When he announced a major forest park in June, the premier, Steven Miles, said Queensland’s timber industry was the “backbone of the housing and construction sector and that it was “doing that which is important to support timber workers and the industry to continue building our country; as we increase the assets of our protected area”.

It is estimated that the number of people traveling in the country has halved in more than 20 years, and it was listed under the national environmental laws as endangered by 2022. It has been hit hard by disasters. ​​​​​​​of the 2019-20 summer black bushes. This species is the largest flying possum in eastern Australia.

Matt Cecil, project manager for the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland, said large aircraft “do not cope well with habitat disturbances such as human-caused logging”.

They don’t tend to walk long distances in the open to walk between trees. “They require a connected, mature eucalypt forest with many large tree hollows, and they feed almost exclusively on eucalypt leaves.”