gliding membrane and they move among the trees like gliders. For ex-
ample, the flying membrane of sugar gliders stretches from their front
legs right up to their back legs. A flying squirrel can jump from the
trunk of one tree and, with his skin tightened and looking like a glider,
he can travel about 100 feet (30 meters) in a single leap. At times,
they have even been observed traveling a distance of 1740 feet (530
meters) in six glides, one after another."
"How do they figure out the distances when they jump between
trees so far apart?" Bilal wondered. "In order to land on the right spot
they must have to make calculations. Just a little mistake and they
would fall to the ground."
The squirrel agreed: "Very true. When we jump, we aim for thin
branches and we have to jump carefully in order to land in just the
right place. To do this we use our back legs, our sharp eyes, which
are very good at guessing distances, our strong claws and our tails,
which help us keep our balance. And the One Who has given us these
abilities and taught us how to use them is our Almighty Lord.
Otherwise, it would certainly not be possible for us to get hold of a
ruler and measure the height of the trees and the distances between
the branches."
Dawud asked, "Do you have other uses for your
tails?"
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