This is one of the sugar glider sound and it is call as a
barking. Short muted barks that sound more
like a small dog barking in the distance help them keep tabs on
one another's location. Gliders bark for
different reasons, none of which is to tease another glider. Just like a human
scream may express vastly different emotions or warning, so it is with the
glider bark. We may scream if someone jumps out and scares us, so we will
scream out of fright. we might also scream if we found a winning lottery
ticket in our wallet and it means we scream out of excitement for being able to
finally buy that deluxe cage that we have always wanted! These are two
vastly different emotions, but the sound that comes out is quite similar.
It seems that the glider bark may be used as a form of warning. For example, if an intruder enters the glider territory, a scout glider would pass a warning signal to the others. We feel the bark fits this type of behavior and this is why the other gliders remain motionless. It is more apparent when you see this in a huge colony setting. One glider barks, all the others freeze.
The other reason a glider seems to bark is a call. Many people have concluded that their glider
barks a lot because they are lonely and it’s often the barking that prompts
many glider keepers to seek a buddy for their solo pet. But do not think
for a minute that this is going to quiet a frequent barker. As you know,
my pal Leo lives with Lola his gliders
friend. Leo barks almost all the time. Well how can he be lonely
with his friend Lola, a huge cage and so
many toys?
I can tell you that Leo is seeking my attention. He wants me to
play with him. As soon as I acknowledge his bark, he stops. I can
tell his special “hey come here and play with me” bark because he is firmly
situated on the main door of his cage to jump immediately to my arm as soon as
the door is opened. He tries to open it himself when he knows I’m nearby,
but it’s too large for him to maneuver, but
you can sure tell he is trying. I will often acknowledge his call by
going to him, but sometimes I will just bark back! It’s not always
convenient, or pleasant to get up at 3AM to play with the gliders. So by
barking back, I would acknowledge them and could often (but not always) put a
halt to the chatter. I find the bark one of the cutest sounds the glider
makes, and it’s not so loud that neighbours in an apartment building
will be disturbed by this, but it will wake you up if they are nearby.
One night, Lola escaped her cage and came into my bed looking for me
and suddenly Leo started barking
non-stop. It was one of those nights that I really didn’t feel like
getting up, so I barked back, repeatedly, to no avail. I finally got up
because his barking was more rapid fire than usual and he was highly persistent
to get my attention. As I approached the cage I saw a small shadow moving
along the floor and as I bent down to investigate, Lola jumped to me. So barking can also be used
to tattle on other mischievous gliders.
The bark is a sophisticated form of clear communication for
gliders. We suspect it is used to warn, or to locate others nearby.
Try tuning in to your gliders and see if you can figure out what they are
saying to you. The clues to their language can often be seen in how the
others gliders around them act. Trying to figure out the messages in
Glider-ese is a fun part especially
if you learn to talk back!
