What are Some Arboreal Animals?
Arboreal animals are animals that spend most or all of their time in trees. Many of them exist, and some are quite famous — the koala, lemur, flying squirrel, New World porcupine, tree sloth, spider monkey, tarsier, leopard, orangutan, chameleon, gecko, fruit bat, and many tree frogs, snakes, birds, and lizards. Arboreal animals live in all the forests of the world, but are the most common in tropical forests, where the lush foliage and the canopy level creates a veritable “floor” of trees and leaves. In the nooks and crannies of trees, water collects in small pools, providing a source of moisture for a whole mini-ecosystem. To climb in trees consistently and without falling, arboreal animals display a wide variety of adaptations, many of them shared between them. These include lithe bodies, clawed or sticky feet, and prehensile (independently movable) tails. Some arboreal animals, like tree sloths, have huge claws that let them hang from trees without expending any energy whatsoever.
