Of the 6,400 mammal species, about half of them occasionally or exclusively occupy the canopy. They’ve evolved body structures and behaviors to gather food and raise their young high above the forest floor, away from the threats of ground-level predators.
The mouse possum, a resident of Latin America, is a tiny relative of the kangaroo. They nest in hanging balls of moss that they place near the tips of skinny tree limbs, far from the reach of heavier predators.
Kinkajous are raccoon relatives with prehensile tails. With their nimble fingers, flexible spines and ankle joints that rotate 180 degrees, they can gracefully navigate through the dense canopy of Central American rainforests.
In southeast Asia, orangutans weave together branches, twigs and leaves each day to construct a bowl-shaped cradle where they sleep each night. Sometimes, they create a protective roof by braiding branches above their heads.
But canopies can also be places of danger. The huge harpy eagle has a shorter wingspan than eagles of open habitats, which helps them navigate the maze of canopy branches. Harpies hunt by scanning the canopy from a perch, swooping down to seize sloths and monkeys in their enormous talons.
Over time, many different kinds of animals in many different forest types have evolved ways to counteract the unrelenting pull of gravity that would turn a missed paw-step into a fatal fall.
