The flying squirrel

📖 In short

A flying squirrel doesn't fly like a bird, but it glides from tree to tree like a kite! Along the sides of its body is a thin flap of skin joining its front and back legs, so when it jumps and spreads its limbs, the skin works like wings.

🤩 Did you know?

Some big flying squirrels are up to 60 centimeters long.
Some can glide more than 100 meters.
In winter several flying squirrels sleep together to keep each other warm.
Flying squirrels live in the forests of Asia, Europe and North America.

🔎 Find out more

🌟 A long leap

The flying squirrel climbs to the top of a tree, then jumps, spreads its limbs and glides through the air, landing on the trunk of another tree far away.

🔍 A steering tail

The flying squirrel's tail is wide and flat, and it uses it like a rudder to change direction and slow down before landing.

💡 A night animal

The flying squirrel sleeps by day in a hole in a tree and comes out at night. Its big wide eyes help it see in the dark.

🎯 Its food

The flying squirrel eats nuts, seeds, fruit, mushrooms and insects, and stores some food for winter.

📸 More pictures

🧩 Test yourself

1 How does a flying squirrel get between trees?

2 When does the flying squirrel come out?

3 Some big flying squirrels are up to ?? centimeters long.

4 Which picture shows “The flying squirrel”?

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📷 Picture sources: Wikimedia Commons

Henrique Pacheco · CC BY 4.0
Pratikppf at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0