Colugos glide to save time, not energy
Friday, July 29, 2011 - 04:30
in Physics & Chemistry
Everyone has always assumed that animals glide to save energy, but when researchers attached acclerometer/radio transmitter back packs to colugos in the Singapore rainforest, they discovered that colugos use 1.5 times more energy gliding than they use scampering over the same distance. Instead of saving energy, the animals saved time, which they could use for foraging.