Watch Salamanders Skydive! | 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.

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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/...

---+ 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/credit...

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