March 29, 2024

Motion Study: Squirrels, Super Athlete - Science Spectrum

Motion Study: Squirrels, Super Athlete – Science Spectrum

The speed and ease with which squirrels move through the challenging and unpredictable environment of the canopy is “amazing,” says biomechanics researcher Robert Foll of the University of California, Berkeley. Animals, it seems, without much effort, jump several times as long as their body, and yet land safely on swaying branches. How they do it, no one can say exactly, explains in full: “How do you really know that your body is capable of such leaps?”