The tail plays an important role in the life of animals. He is responsible for physiological, mechanical and communicative functions. With its help, animals jump, sit, move, swim and even fly. The functions of the tail differ depending on the type of animal.
With the help of their tail, some animals warm themselves up in severe frosts. For example, with the onset of winter, the squirrel goes to bed curled up in a ball and covers itself with its tail, like a blanket. The length of the squirrel's tail is almost equal to the length of its body. Also, with the help of it, the squirrel controls its flight during jumps and maintains balance. Foxes, sables, leopards, martens, arctic foxes and other animals use their tails in the same way. The beaver is the largest rodent. Its body length is approximately equal to one meter. The most characteristic feature of the beaver is a peculiar, thickened in the middle and flattened tail, the length of which can reach 25 centimeters. The beaver uses its tail as a rudder and oars while swimming and even catches food. Monkeys can hang from a tree using their tail. In this position, it is convenient for them to pick fruits hanging nearby and bring food to the mouth with their front paws. After eating, they swing, hanging upside down, as if on a swing. The tail is an important tool in animal conversation. Frightened, the dog squeezes him. In times of anger, he holds it as a "carrot". And in a joyful mood, a man's friend loves to wag his tail. Cats and cats, on the other hand, show their emotions in a slightly different way. If the tail is lifted up by the "pipe", they feel good, and wag it when angry. Some animals may shed their tail in self-defense. When a predator's teeth (or human hands) grab this part of the lizard's body, it instantly contracts muscles and breaks the spine in this place. A severed tail is able to serve for a long time - to twitch for hours, distracting the attention of predators from the lizard itself. And after a while, a new tail grows from the stump. Sometimes it just breaks down, but a new one still begins to grow. In this case, the lizard becomes two-tailed, three-tailed, or even four-tailed.
