VERY INTERESTING: FLYING SQUIRRELS

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Interesting Facts About Flying Squirrels

Meet some of the most spectacular, and secretive, squirrels on Earth.

Bats are the only mammals that truly fly, but they aren't the only ones you might see swooping overhead at dusk. For tens of millions of years, a variety of other furry vertebrates have also been soaring through forests, especially after dark.

Flying squirrels — which actually glide, not fly — date back to at least the Oligocene Epoch, and now come in 43 species across Asia, Europe, and North America. They sail from tree to tree on a special membrane between each front and back limb, a trick that has evolved multiple times in history. (Aside from flying squirrels, it's also used by other aerial mammals such as anomalures, colugos, and sugar gliders.)

Gliding through trees by moonlight, these animals can seem like ghosts. Yet their nocturnal mystique is balanced with a doe-eyed charisma, making them valuable mascots for the ancient woodlands where they live. Humans are naturally drawn to cuteness and novelty, so conservationists often rally support for troubled ecosystems by highlighting cute or unusual animals that depend on them.

Even if we rarely see gliding mammals in the wild, it's nice to know they're still out there, patrolling primeval woods as they did long before our own species existed. And since their future hinges on the health of such places, anyone who appreciates these animals must be a fan of native forests, too. To shed a little light on both, here's a closer look at the secret world of flying squirrels:

1. Those Adorable Eyes Are for Night Vision

Big, round eyes are one reason why flying squirrels look so cute to humans. But while this trait typically indicates infancy in mammals — like the wide eyes that endear us to babies and puppies — flying squirrels retain their disproportionately plump peepers into adulthood. They evolved big eyes to collect more light for better night vision, an adaptation shared by many nocturnal animals, from owls to lemurs.

2. They Can Glow at Night

While we know all species of flying squirrels are active at night, it wasn't until recently that researchers discovered some also glow at night.

Jonathan Martin, an associate professor of forestry at Northland College in Wisconsin, was coming back from a hike one night when he shined an ultraviolet light at a flying squirrel and saw it glow pink. Based on that spontaneous discovery, a team of researchers led by Allison Kohler eventually found that all American flying squirrels fluoresce at night, as they reported in the Journal of Mammalogy in 2019.

They also learned the flying squirrels glow more strongly on their undersides. It's still unclear why the squirrels give off a fluorescent effect at all, but the researchers have several theories, including avoidance of predators at night, communication among the squirrels, and navigation of snowy and icy terrain.

3. Instead of Wings, Flying Squirrels Have 'Patagia' and Wrist Spurs

The furry, parachute-like membrane between a flying squirrel's front and back limbs is known as a "patagium" (the plural is patagia). These flaps catch air as the squirrel falls, letting it propel itself forward instead of plummeting. But to make sure the patagia catch enough air, flying squirrels also have another trick up their sleeves: cartilage spurs at each wrist that can be extended almost like an extra finger, stretching out the patagia farther than the squirrel's tiny arms could on their own.

When a flying squirrel wants to reach a tree that's beyond jumping distance, it just boldly leaps out into the night, as captured in the video above. It then extends its limbs, including its wrist spurs, to stretch out its patagia and start gliding. It lands on the trunk of its target tree, gripping the bark with its claws, and often immediately scurries to the other side to avoid any owls that might have seen its glide.

4. Flying Squirrels Can Glide 300 Feet and Make 180-Degree Turns

They may not really fly, but flying squirrels still cover impressive distances in the air. The average glide of a northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinusis) is about 65 feet (20 meters), according to the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, or slightly longer than a bowling lane. But it can also go much farther if needed, with glides recorded up to 295 feet (90 meters). That means an 11-inch (28 cm) northern flying squirrel could glide almost the full length of a soccer field, or about as far as the Statue of Liberty is tall. It's also remarkably agile, using its limbs, fluffy tail, and patagia muscles to make sharp turns, even pulling off full semi-circles in a single glide.

And such abilities aren't limited to smaller species: Asia's red giant flying squirrel (Petaurista petaurista) can grow 32 inches (81 cm) long and weigh almost 4 pounds (1.8 kg), yet has been seen making nimble glides as far as 246 feet (75 meters).

5. 90% of All Flying Squirrel Species Exist Only in Asia

Wild flying squirrels can be found on three continents, but they aren't evenly distributed. Forty of 43 known species are endemic to Asia, meaning they naturally exist nowhere else on Earth. And relatives of flying squirrels have inhabited parts of Asia for roughly 160 million years, according to research on flying-mammal fossils that hail from the age of dinosaurs.

Asia has played another key role in flying-squirrel history, according to a 2013 study, with dense forests offering both a refuge and a diversification center. These habitats may have saved flying squirrels during glacial periods, but they also slowly split up and reconnected over time, a process that can spur new species to evolve.

Even if Asian forests did all that, however, many now face growing threats from large-scale deforestation and human-induced climate change, both of which are happening far more quickly than the natural changes endured by ancient flying squirrels. "Based on this work," the study's authors wrote, "we predict a bleak future for the flying squirrels, one which is closely associated with the fate of forests in Asia."

And as always have a chilled day from the Viking