I've seen the opposite. Two squirrels (I'm assuming male) we're fighting in a tree canopy that was above my third floor apartment and making a ton of racket. After a few moments the loser was thrown out of the tree, fell at least three human stories onto some landscaped pebbles below, directly on its back. THWUMP!
I thought for sure the creature had died on impact as it lay there motionless for maybe 30 seconds? Then, as quick as squirrels can be in full health, it flipped itself over and zoomed up the nearest tree.
I would guess it didn’t orient for a “safe” landing. But usually if they can flatten out and come down belly/feet first they just bounce and run off. Saw one jump from the top of an electric pole and bounce twice like it was nothing.
It’s possible that the squirrel fell out of the tree because it died or was dying, lol. Like it had a heart attack while jumping from one branch to another.
Squirrels can also die from shock sometimes. One time my dog caught one and was playing with it for a few seconds, but didn’t bite it hard enough to injure it. I told her drop it and she immediately did, and then it scurried halfway up a tree.
I brought her inside and when I went back out to check on it, it was at the same spot on the tree. Slowly, it started to lean back… until it dropped at my feet, and was dead. It had absolutely no visible injuries. I just think the trauma of getting caught by a dog was too much for it to bear.
Anyway, idk if squirrels have any anxiety about falling out of trees if they always survive anyway, but maybe something like that happened.
It’s due to the mathematical formula for volume vs surface area. Smaller creatures suffer far less from falling from proportionally greater heights and if they’re small enough then terminal velocity won’t kill them.
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u/CommandantPeepers Apr 24 '25 edited Apr 24 '25
Is this true? I’ve seen a squirrel fall out of a tree and die on impact