A Squirrel's Glide to a Long Life

摘要

An hour or so after sundown, my students and I stepped outside our lodge in the White Mountains of New Hampshire to look at the night sky. The October evening was settling in crisp and clear, the brighter stars already showing through the waning twilight. We were gazing upward, hoping to see a meteor or two, when a shadowy silhouette caught my eye. I turned just in time to see a flying squirrel glide into the darkness of the forest understory. Turning our attention to the woods, we all stood motionless, straining to see the squirrel again. Soon another one appeared, and then another, emerging to forage. It was their time, and we were in the right place.