Ethan Walker

Some animals cannot fly because flight is expensive, demanding, and not always worth keeping. In birds, insects, and a few other animals, wings may become smaller, stiffer, weaker, or useful for something other than air travel when running, swimming, hiding, breeding, or saving energy matters more than lifting off the ground. That does not make … Read more

Animal gaits are the repeatable patterns animals use when they walk, trot, pace, gallop, hop, bound, or run. The easiest way to understand a gait is to watch the order in which feet touch the ground. A horse walking slowly, a dog trotting across a yard, a cat sprinting after prey, and a kangaroo hopping … Read more

Animals that climb use far more than simple strength. A good climber needs grip, balance, body control, and the right body shape for the surface it lives on. A gecko on a wall, a monkey in the canopy, a mountain goat on a cliff, and a tree frog on a leaf are all solving the … Read more

Animals that jump the farthest are not all champions in the same way. A kangaroo may cover a long distance in one powerful bound, a frog can launch from a crouch with surprising force, and a tiny insect can travel many times its own body length by releasing stored energy like a spring. The best … Read more

The fastest land animals are built for different kinds of speed. The cheetah is the best-known sprint specialist, capable of the quickest short bursts on land, while the pronghorn is famous for combining high speed with unusual endurance. Other runners, including springbok, wildebeest, ostriches, lions, horses, and greyhounds, show that land speed is not one … Read more

Animals that glide do something different from ordinary jumping and different from true powered flight. They launch from a high place, spread a body surface that catches air, and control the fall well enough to travel sideways before landing. Some use furry membranes, some use expanded ribs, some use webbed feet, and some use fins … Read more

Animals swim by pushing against water with body waves, tails, fins, flippers, limbs, bells, cilia, or jets of water. The exact method depends on the animal’s body shape, the water it lives in, how it breathes, and whether it needs speed, control, endurance, or quiet movement. That is why a trout, dolphin, sea turtle, penguin, … Read more

Animal movement is the way animals travel, reposition their bodies, and interact with the world around them. It includes walking, running, swimming, flying, jumping, gliding, climbing, crawling, burrowing, and many smaller motions that help animals feed, escape danger, find mates, reach shelter, and explore their surroundings. The simple idea is this: animals do not move … Read more