Scientists are getting a better sense of how squirrels and other tree-dwelling creatures leap and bound through their death-defying habitats—and still stick the landing.
Vladislava Urazova has nothing on fox squirrels. Sure, this year’s Russian gold medalist executed mind-bending twirls and flips on a balance beam only slightly wider than a credit card at the summer Olympics. But at least her beam didn’t bend—or break. Now, scientists are getting a better sense of how squirrels and other tree-dwelling creatures leap and bound through their death-defying habitats—and still stick the landing.
To systematically investigate squirrels’ leaping skills, integrative biomechanists at the University of California, Berkeley, ventured to the edge of campus, where fox squirrels are plentiful. Nathaniel Hunt, now at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, and colleagues set up an outdoor laboratory where the centerpiece was a steel sheet suspended 1.5 meters off the ground. Mounted to it was a flexible horizontal pole and a landing perch, separated by an adjustable gap.
In their first experiment, the researchers used three poles: a birch rod, a hollow plastic tube, and a plastic tube with a brass rod inside. After multiple jumps from each pole, the squirrels were challenged with a much thinner, floppier steel beam. Researchers also nearly doubled the size of the gap between the pole and the platform, making it about four squirrel body lengths—quite a long way for a squirrel.
Scientists have long debated how much nonprimates “think” about their actions—and how much they can learn from previous experience. The new work demonstrates that squirrels do consider properties of branches and adjust what they do accordingly, Socha says. He also notes that over the course of several jumps, the squirrels adjusted their launch to ensure a more perfect landing.
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