How Salamanders Skydive From the Tallest Trees in the World | Deep Look

When a hungry bird comes near them, wandering salamanders can jump off the tallest trees in the world, California's coast redwoods, skydiving to a safe branch. Researchers decided to put them in a wind tunnel to investigate their daring moves in slow motion. SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! https://www.youtube.com/user/kqeddeeplook?sub_confirmation=1 Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- The wandering salamander lives at the tops of coast redwoods in California, which can grow as tall as 30-floor skyscrapers. The salamander can spend the entirety of its 20-year-long life up there, never once touching the forest floor. But the tiny salamanders have a special trick up their sleeves for evading danger. When predators get too close, the wandering salamander goes skydiving up in the trees, controlling their pitch, roll and yaw midair to more safely navigate the skies and prepare for landing. --- How big is the wandering salamander? The wandering salamander is about 4 inches (10 centimeters) long, just a little longer than a credit card. --- Can the wandering salamander really spend its whole life up in a tree? Yep! Researchers tracked salamanders over a 20-year span and found they were often in the same trees year after year. --- How long can these giant California coast redwoods live? The towering evergreen trees can live for 2,000 years or longer! Some of the oldest coast redwoods were thought to be around during the Roman Empire! ---+ Find additional resources and a transcript on KQED Science: https://www.kqed.org/science/1993917/these-salamanders-skydive-from-the-tallest-trees ---+ For more information: Dive into researcher Christian Brown’s oeuvre of research and discoveries here!: http://skydivingsalamander.com/ Researcher and filmmaker Will Goldenberg has met and studied a lot of animals in his career! Check out more of his work here: https://www.willgoldenberg.com/credits.html ---+ More great Deep Look episodes: What Makes This Frog’s Tongue So Fast AND Sticky? https://youtu.be/USxQgEp1GN8?si=TviVBaicRQU14QWh How Can These Flies Live in Oily Black Tar Pits? https://youtu.be/V0CKcK5BqQU This Incredible Little Starfish Has a Secret https://youtu.be/SSTfw1wuP9s ---+ Shoutout! 🏆Congratulations🏆 to the following fans on our Deep Look Community Tab for correctly answering our GIF challenge! The answer is pitch, roll and yaw. @MoltedFeathers @Unknown-bt2yr @matthewnardin7304 @sharpshooter._.b @zooemperor3954 ---+ Thank you to our top Patreon supporters ($10+ per month)! Wised1000 Susan Fuhs Hank Poppe Walter Tschinkel Marco Narajos H.M. Andrew Joan Klivans STEPHANIE DOLE Kevin Sholar J Schumacher Lily, Vinny, Izzy Altschuler Drspaceman0 R B BulletproofFrog The Mighty X LAUREL PRZYBYLSKI Kevin William Walker wormy boi Jessica Hiraoka Laurel Przybylski 吳怡彰 Jeremiah Sullivan Mehdi Mark Jobes Carrie Mukaida Cristen Rasmussen Wade Tregaskis Burt Humburg Noreen Herrington Roberta K Wright xkyoirre Louis O'Neill Jellyman Titania Juang El Samuels Laurel Przybylski Companion Cube Chris B Emrick KW Karen Reynolds SueEllen McCann David Deshpande Daisuke Goto Elizabeth Ann Ditz Levi Cai ---+ Follow Deep Look and KQED Science on social: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@deeplookofficial Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/deeplook Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kqedscience Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kqedscience ---+ About KQED KQED, an NPR and PBS member station in San Francisco, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, radio and web media. Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the members of KQED. #salamander #redwoods #deeplook


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