Page 120 - Atlas Of The World's Strangest Animals

120 ATLAS OF THE WORLD’S STRANGEST ANIMALS

Southern Flying Squirrel

Despite their name, these strange North American squirrels don’t really fly.

Instead they glide gracefully from tree trunk to tree trunk, using a special
membrane called a patagium to catch the air as they fall – just like a parachutist
using a canopy to break their descent.

Eyes
A pair of huge, forwards-facing
eyes ensures that these small
squirrels have excellent
binocular vision.This enables
them to judge distances more
accurately when leaping from
tree to tree.

(c) 2011 Marshall Cavendish. All Rights Reserved.