Q: How can squirrels jump so far? And how do they hold on to tree limbs as they gambol about? A: Squirrels have evolved with several anatomical adaptations that help them with their acrobatics. While ...

Top photo: A free-ranging squirrel leaps from one branch to a branch instrumented to measure force. (Image credit: Sebastian Lee). Bottom photo: A one-legged robot, called Salto, was modified to jump ...

When you see a squirrel jump to a branch, you might think (and I myself thought, up until just now) that they’re doing what birds and primates would do to stick the landing: just grabbing the branch ...