Photo taken: February 24, 2015
When we run…. or for those of us of a certain age, when we USED TO run… there’s always a brief moment in between each stride where neither of our feet are touching the ground. With squirrels, that moment of non-contact is even more pronounced given their tendency to hop and leap as they scamper about. While it’s easy to envision this free-floating instant when the running is being done horizontally on the ground… it’s not as easy to imagine for critters who have the ability to scale objects and a fast pace. When humans climb sheer objects, they take care to always have a hold of something with at least one appendage to keep them from splatting on the ground. But squirrels can actually “run” up trees and telephone poles…. and yes, they do have those split seconds in between each pace where they’re completely suspended in midair! This is my best photo capturing this breathtaking phenomenon where the squirrel literally just seems to be gliding up the side of the pole without touching it at all! Squirrels aren’t just nature’s acrobats, they are nature’s magicians as well!
Just don’t lick the metal poles, dude. Super squirrel status notwithstanding, I suspect Mother Nature will stick your furry butt or more accurately, your tongue to it just like the rest of the knuckleheads. 😜
That pole looks pretty rusty to me, so even a triple dog dare wouldn’t get me to put my tongue on it!
Not everyone is that smart. 🙃
Impressive. I’m pretty sure I’ve never been that coordinated on any surface. But my dogs do that sort of leap thing, but not up trees. Only in the gleaning fo foodstuff to their mouths!
I’ll bet if there were treats up in the tree, they might be able to pull it off. Particularly Duke… he seems to be capable of amazing things…
I expect he has a little jet pack hidden under that bushy tail.
I hope it’s not powered by natural gas…
Squirrels are absolutely nature’s best acrobats – they do death-defying things every day and this little guy is no exception with his free-floating trip up the pole. Impressive…..!
Pam
He just needs to make sure everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING, is tucked in so he doesn’t pick up any splinters!
YIKES!
Such amazing little creatures! I hope the next viral act of stupidity is for people to post videos of themselves trying to do things squirrels do. Imagine a person trying to run up a pole. The results would be hilarious. 😂