5 Mammals of the Trees-Mid

Mammals of the Trees FOCUS Question What do mammals that live in trees have in common?

Look Up! You step across the shadowy jungle floor. A whistling call rings from the branches above. You look for the bird that made the sound. Instead, you spot a large, furry mammal swinging from branch to branch. You just saw a gibbon—a type of ape. A gibbon is an arboreal (ar-BOR-e-ul), or tree-dwelling, mammal. Many different kinds of mammals make their homes in trees. Living in high habitats has made these animals similar in many ways.

Life in the Trees Living in trees has advantages. The biggest benefit is food. Monkeys eat a lot of fruit. Koalas eat leaves. These foods, along with insects and flower nectar, are plentiful in treetops. In trees, animals can avoid predators that only live on the ground. Many predators can't reach the treetops. Trees also have many nooks and crannies for hiding. Living in trees has its challenges, too. The biggest problem is moving from place to place without going down to the ground. Tree-dwelling mammals have to climb, swing or leap from branch to branch. Luckily, their bodies have features to help them get around.

Primates A group of mammals called primates includes monkeys, lemurs, and apes. These animals eat insects, nuts, leaves, and a lot of fruit. How do arboreal primates get to these? treetop treats Most monkeys are small, so they can travel on the thinnest branches. They have strong, flexible arms that allow them to reach and swing. Thumbs on their hands and feet help them grab and hang on. Most monkeys have long tails to help them balance. Some even have prehensile tails, which can bend and grip like an extra hand. Think About It Humans are also primates. Do people have features that would allow us to live in trees?

Lemurs also have thumbs that can grip. Many lemurs have strong legs and feet that they use to "bounce" from trunk to trunk. Apes tend to be larger than monkeys and lemurs. Even with their large bodies, orangutans are arboreal. These great apes have long flexible arms and four thumbs used for climbing. All primates have eyes that face straight forward. This gives them binocular, or 3-D vision which helps them judge distances. It makes leaping from branch to branch much easier!

Squirrels Squirrels are another group that takes to the trees. These small mammals eat only nuts and seeds. Most squirrels are small and light. Their long tails help them balance, even on the thinnest twigs. Strong legs let them leap from tree. to tree Tough claws grab tree bark and hold on. Squirrels can turn their ankles all the way around in order to hang on with their back feet while climbing down headfirst. Do You Know? Flying squirrels have flaps of skin between their legs called patagia. They use these skin flaps to glide from tree to tree.