Flying Squirrels

Flying Squirrels

Flying Squirrels
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 4 to 7
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	7.35

Vocabulary

challenging words:

nighttime, troublesome, achievement, mid-air, entire, species, actually, easily, sequence, lower, opposite, steer, attack, upper, night, launch

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Flying Squirrels

¹     As night falls and darkness envelops the entire forest, flying squirrels venture out from their tree homes. They eagerly search for food - seeds, fruits, leaves, nuts, and insects - to fill their empty stomachs. When they move about, they don't climb down a tree, travel across the ground, and then climb up another tree. The whole sequence of acts are simply too time-consuming and troublesome for flying squirrels. To use their time more effectively, flying squirrels are able to accomplish an achievement that is unthinkable to almost all mammals - they "fly"!

²     Well, flying squirrels actually don't fly. They glide. Flying squirrels do not have wings like birds. What they have is a blanket-like fur skin stretched between their front and hind legs. As flying squirrels leap out of a treetop and spread out their four limbs, they look like Aladdin's magic carpet, gliding gracefully across the nighttime sky. Miraculously, flying squirrels are able to maneuver in mid-air and steer toward their desired destinations. When they are near their target, they push their lower bodies forward and pull their upper bodies backward. By doing so, flying squirrels are able to land on all four feet almost simultaneously. As soon as they touch down on a trunk, they often run to the opposite side of the trunk. They do this to avoid getting captured by owls that like to fly silently behind them and launch a surprise attack.

³     Of all the 40 or so species of flying squirrels, the giant flying squirrel of Asia is the most talented glider - it can easily glide over a distance of 1,500 feet!

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