Squirrels leap into Science!

Squirrel Olympics!

Published today in Science – Judy Jinn, Nate Hunt and I began this project in 2014 – and then developed it with a grant from Stochastic Labs, recruiting Tom Libby, Jennifer Arter and Aaron Teixiera for a month of brainstorming – ending up with our climbing wall. I’ll be writing about the fabulous history of this project “In a Nutshell”.

Here’s the article (pdf): Acrobatic squirrels learn to leap and land on tree branches without falling

And the commentary in Science: Squirrels have their own gold medal moves

And an article by Jim Gorman in the New York Times:  Squirrel Acrobats are as Smart as they are Athletic

Squirrel on wall
Squirrel on wall

 The original Squirrel Team!  Nate Hunt (Full Lab, trained in physics, whom we persuaded to switch from insects to squirrels) – Judy Jinn (Jacobs Lab, trained in animal cognition) – Lucia J. – Aaron Teixeira (Jacobs Lab undergraduate assistant)

Where squirrels can take you… Nate Hunt is now an Assistant Professor (University of Nebraska, Omaha), Judy Jinn was recruited by Facebook where she is now a very happy quantitative UX Researcher and Aaron Teixeira has another dream job as Shelter Behavior Manager at the San Francisco SPCA.