Climbing Ability of Small Mammals (squirrels,chipmunks,etc)

Jenkins,F., McClearn,D. "Mechanisms of Hind Foot Reversal in Climbing Mammals" Journal of Morphology, 1984, v.182, no.2, p.197-220.

Bock,W., Winkler,H. "Mechanical Analysis of the External Forces on Climbing Mammals" Zoomorphologie, 1978, v.91, no.1, p.49-61.

'Bunch more papers are listed in the Climbing Endnote file

Small clawed mammals use their claws to both grip and thrust. Front feet/claws are used to provide pull force to keep animal on the surface (usually a tree). Rear feet/claws provide vertical thrust.

Some mammals (squirrels) can rotate their hind feet in order to climb down using the-now-redirected hind claws to keep them from falling off. The housecat, however, cannot and thus has difficulty climbing down (e.g. cats always get stuck in trees).

Links to other stuff:

• Paper on claws of birds (in Docushare folder)
• coming soon: some stuff about the mechanics grasping tools and their adaptation into actuated claws.

-- MarkCutkosky - 02 Jul 2003