the.com/flying squirrel
Doesn't fly, just commits harder to falling than you ever will.
means A small rodent with a furry membrane stretched between its wrists and ankles that lets it glide long distances between trees instead of actually flying.
from The 'flying' part is an old, imprecise habit of language — English speakers have long used 'fly' loosely for any swift, airborne-looking motion, not just powered flight (think of 'flying fish,' which also just glides). The animal's actual gear is a patagium, a skin membrane it stretches taut to turn a jump into a long, controlled glide. So the name is a bit of folk shorthand: it describes the spectacle, not the mechanics.
- actual method
- glides on a skin membrane called patagium
- glide distance
- can cover over 150 feet per leap
- night shift
- nocturnal, so you rarely see the stunt
- braking system
- uses tail as a rudder to stick landings