The Fast and the Furriest Trivia Quiz

Answer: Patagium

The patagium is that stretchy flap of skin that extends between a flying squirrel's front and back legs, turning a fuzzy fluffy-tailed rat into a loveable living hang-glider made of fur. When the squirrel leaps from a tree, it spreads its limbs, tensing the patagium and allowing it to glide (definitely NOT fly) for distances that can exceed 150 feet (4.6 dekameters). It goes to show, you don't need plane tickets if you're aerodynamic enough and highly motivated.

Unlike birds, flying squirrels don't flap or gain altitude, but they can steer pretty well, which we'll get into soon. They're silent, too, meaning one can swoop past you at night and you'll never know unless it sticks the landing somewhere inconvenient, like your girlfriend's hair.

Humans actually borrowed the idea from nature. Early flight suits and even modern wingsuits mimic the patagium concept. Unlike flying squirrels, though, you will need to sign liability waivers before jumping. Again, it helps if you're aerodynamic enough and highly motivated.

Answer: It spreads fungal spores that help trees absorb nutrients

The northern flying squirrel is a major disperser of the spores of underground mycorrhizal fungi. Don't worry about it. That's just the truffle-like fungus it digs up and eats at night. Those fungal spores pass through the squirrel's digestive tract intact (eww!) and are deposited in its fecal pellets as the fuzzy rodent moves about the forest.

The fungi then colonize tree roots and form mycorrhizae, a symbiosis that greatly improves a tree's ability to absorb water and nutrients (especially phosphorus and nitrogen).

It's a win-win for the natural world.

Answer: Nuts, seeds, fruit, and sometimes insects and bird eggs

Our furry flying friends are omnivores with a varied menu that can include nuts, seeds, berries, fungi, tree sap, insects, and even bird eggs or nestlings when the opportunity presents itself. They're not particularly picky eaters, more like opportunistic snack enthusiasts who happen to glide when they're in a hurry. Their diet changes seasonally and depends on what the woods have to offer, which is why you will not see a flying squirrel attempting to spear a trout or pollinate a flower on purpose.

One especially important food group for many flying squirrels is fungi, including truffle-like species that grow underground. These aren't just snacks. As we've learned, the squirrels help spread fungal spores through their droppings, which in turn help trees absorb nutrients. So yes, they eat, glide, and accidentally perform soil science with their poop. That's by far more than I've done today.

What they don't do is live on grass like rabbits, fish like otters, or hover around flowers like hummingbirds. If you wake up to see a flying squirrel hovering in front of a flower drinking its nectar, it's probably best just to go back to bed.

Answer: Red Giant Flying Squirrel

The red giant flying squirrel (Petaurista petaurista, if that's your thing) is one of the largest flying squirrel species in the world and is known for its rich reddish-brown (sometimes chestnut) fur and impressive long-distance gliding. These squirrels can cover more than 300 feet (about 90 meters) in a single glide, and some documented flights have exceeded 450 feet (about 135 meters) under ideal conditions.

Native to forests across South and Southeast Asia, the Red Giant Flying Squirrel spends most of its life in the canopy, emerging at night to forage for leaves, fruit, nuts, bark, and the occasional insect who totally had it coming.

Answer: True

Yep. They glide alone, forage alone, but when the temperature hits "nope" degrees, they pile up like a stack of warm fluffy pancakes. In winter, it's common for several to share the same tree cavity or nest (called a "drey") to conserve heat. Scientists have recorded groups of a dozen or more northern flying squirrels snuggled together like it's a fun, furry sleepover. But they're definitely not doing it for companionship. They want to live another day. Body heat, when shared, is free heating and requires no firewood, thermostats, or arguments about who last touched the thermostat when I set it there for a reason!

This behavior is especially common in northern flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus), which live in colder climates and need all the insulation they can get. Southern flying squirrels (Glaucomys volans) also share nests, sometimes mixing with relatives and sometimes with total strangers (you know who you are).

Answer: In the forests of Hokkaido, Japan

The Ezo flying squirrel is a subspecies of the Siberian flying squirrel, found only on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. It spends nearly all of its life in coniferous and mixed forests, where it nests in tree cavities, glides from branch to branch at night, and tries to convince confused humans that it's not the Pokémon they're looking for. The word "Ezo" is an old term referring to Hokkaido and its wildlife, so this is very much an endemic species.

These squirrels are strictly arboreal, meaning they stay in the trees rather than getting under your feet on the forest floor. They feed on buds, seeds, cones, and leaves, and in winter they rely heavily on stored food and their thick fur, which just adds to their adorable, marshmallow-like appearance!

Answer: True

Flying squirrels may look like they're just coasting around the woods on a built-in wingsuit, but they're actually skilled aerial navigators. Their large, fluffy tail acts as a stabilizer and rudder in mid-glide, helping them change direction, slow down, or pitch upward just before landing. They can also adjust the tension of the patagium (that stretchy skin between their limbs) for ultra fine-tuned control, but the tail is definitely the big steering wheel of the operation.

The tail can wind to one side like a rudder, fan out for braking, or angle up or down to help adjust flight path. Without it, a flying squirrel would glide about as gracefully as a frisbee thrown by a toddler. It's not just for balance on tree branches. That thing is a fully functional flight accessory.

Answer: Siberian Flying Squirrel

The Siberian flying squirrel (Pteromys volans) is found across northern Europe and Asia, including Finland, Estonia, Russia, and parts of northern China. It has a noticeably paler coat than its North American brethren, often gray or light brown with a white belly, which helps it blend in with snowy boreal forests. Unlike many small mammals that avoid harsh winters by quietly spending it sleeping (guilty), the Siberian flying squirrel stays active all year. It just hangs out in tree cavities during the coldest stretches, eating stored food.

This species needs old-growth forests with plenty of nest sites, especially hollows made by woodpeckers. It feeds on buds, catkins, seeds, leaves, and fungi, and it can glide about 20-30 meters (65-100 feet) in a single leap. That may not match the giant Asian flying squirrels, but for something that weighs about as much as a stick of butter, it's pretty impressive.

Answer: Mountainous forests of China and Taiwan

The red and white giant flying squirrel is an impressive glider that makes its home in the mountainous forests of mainland China and Taiwan, typically at elevations between 800 and 3,500 meters (2,600 to 11,500 feet). They're not quite the globe-trotters that some other flying squirrel species are, so don't look for them lounging around in tropical Borneo or shivering near the Arctic Circle.

What makes these squirrels truly interesting is their size. At over a meter (over 3 feet) long including their tail, they're considered among the largest flying squirrels in the world, with one particular specimen tipping the scales at a hefty 4.3 kilograms (almost 10 pounds). Excluding that outlier, a more typical weight is about 2kg or 4lbs.

They spend their days sleeping in tree hollows and emerge at night to forage for nuts, fruits, and the occasional insect. You know. Flying squirrel stuff.

Answer: Through soft chattering calls, squeaks, and sometimes tail flicking

The Indian giant flying squirrel is a surprisingly noisy neighbor many nights. Spending its nights in forest canopies, these squirrels produce weak, soft, monotonous vocalizations that sometimes sound like guinea pig grunts, along with sharp chittering cries and loud alarm calls. Research using spectrograms has revealed their calls contain 14 parallel frequency bands ranging from 1 to 11 kHz. Yep, they have their own personal frequency signature.

They're most vocal during midnight and early morning hours, particularly just before entering their nest cavities, with females being notably more talkative than males. I'll leave it as an exercise for the reader to make his or her own joke at this point.