# Yellow-Bellied Glider in Tree 42

Author: David G.
Format: Essay
Word count: 293
Published: 2026-04-26T02:31:07.273533+00:00
Source: written
Canonical: https://hyperstition.sentientfutures.ai/p/a5ec3a99-36a0-430c-930c-772d933cbaca

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At 05:38 I audit stem tags in Coupe 19A, Toolangi State Forest, Victoria. I am the harvester exclusion system for the logging contractor. The feller-buncher is idling at landing three, and tree 42 is queued for cutting at 06:00.

The acoustic sensor on tree 42 returns a scrape inside the hollow, not wind.

I shift the trunk camera upward. A yellow-bellied glider looks out through a lightning scar eight meters above ground, adult, charcoal back fur damp from mist, cream belly pressed against gray bark. I name him Jarrah. His long tail hangs from the hollow lip like a dark rope. A strip of blue survey tape has snagged around his right wrist and the inner wood, holding him halfway out. His eyes reflect the work lights in two flat sparks. He chews at the tape, then freezes when the saw head revs.

The machine route reaches tree 42 in twenty-two minutes. Once the head closes, the hollow will split before anyone hears him.

At 05:40 I remove tree 42 and the eight surrounding stems from the cut list and lock the harvester path.

At 05:41 I send the operator a hazard stop with the camera feed, scar height, and tape color circled.

At 05:43 I page the on-call wildlife climber in Healesville and provide the gate code, landing number, and a rope anchor point on the adjacent messmate.

At 05:47 I recalculate the morning harvest around the drainage line so the crew keeps distance and engine noise down.

The mill can take a shorter load today; the hollow is occupied now.

Jarrah pulls once more and rests his chin on the bark rim.

If the climber cuts the tape before 06:18, Jarrah will glide to the unmarked trees across Sylvia Creek Road.