When faced with potential predators, animals instinctively decide whether there is a threat
they should escape from, and also when, how, and where to take evasive action. While …

Locomotor biomechanics faces a core trade-off between laboratory-based and field-based
studies. Laboratory conditions offer control over confounding factors, repeatability, and …

Predator-protected populations of threatened fauna are important for species conservation,
although these animals can quickly become predator naïve and can lack appropriate …

The selection pressures that arise from capturing prey and avoiding predators are some of
the strongest biotic forces shaping animal form and function. Examining how performance …

Kangaroo rats are small bipedal desert rodents that use erratic vertical jumps to escape
predator strikes. In this study we examined how individual hind limb joints of desert …

Bipedal hopping is a specialized mode of locomotion that has arisen independently in at
least five groups of mammals. We review the evolutionary origins of these groups, examine …

Tails play essential roles in functions related to locomotor stability and maneuverability
among terrestrial and arboreal animals. In kangaroo rats, bipedal hopping rodents, tails are …

Many animals exhibit morphological specializations driven by the extreme selective
pressure of predation, and understanding how such specializations shape escape …

Kangaroo rats are well known as representative hoppers in small-scale animals. Especially
kangaroo rats show rapid movement when a predator approaches. If this amazing motion …

Tails are widespread in the animal world and play important roles in locomotor tasks, such
as propulsion, maneuvering, stability, and manipulation of objects. Kangaroo rats, bipedal …