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14 NAT GEO KIDS^ •^ MAY 2022
Your vehicle is flying over the Sea of Japan when you see your
first stop below. Hundreds of green trees appear as you slowly
descend into a boreal forest on a Japanese island called
Hokkaido. Boreal forests like this one can be found from sea
level up to mountainous elevations around 5,000 feet and are
home to trees such as fir, spruce, and ash.
A flash of fur whizzes from one tree to another. It’s a tiny crea-
ture called a Siberian flying squirrel, which grows to be about
seven inches long. Despite their name, these squirrels don’t actu-
ally fly. “They don’t flap like a bird, but rather glide from a high
place to a low place,” says Kei Suzuki, a researcher at Japan’s
Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute. Stretched out
like a cape, an elastic membrane between the squirrel’s forelegs
and hind legs helps the tiny aviators soar from tree to tree.
You’ve spotted the squirrel during a special time of year—
this one has just given birth to three babies. Many flying
squirrel species have babies just once a year, but Siberian
flying squirrels sometimes reproduce twice, once in the
spring and again in summer.
Mother squirrels often build nests in holes drilled by wood-
peckers and fill them with bark from vines. “The vines’ bark
retains heat to keep little ones warm,” Suzuki says. Inside the
tree, the babies are shielded from predators like owls.
Born without fur, the babies stay in the nest until they’re
about three months old. Then the squirrels will leave the only
tree they’ve ever known to explore the forest on their own.
These three have another month left in the nest. You
leave Mom to tend to her babies as you climb back into the
vehicle and rise through the treetops. Next stop: Europe’s
temperate forests.
Soar with these fur balls as they
raise babies in boreal treetops.
MAIN TEXT BY C.M. TOMLIN • FOREST LIFE BY ROSE DAVIDSON
He’s eating a plant
called a Japanese alder.
Oh, sorry—male flying squirrels
are called bucks and females are
called does. You know, like deer.
@NatGeoKids
is texting you!
Here’s where
Siberian flying
squirrels live.
No clue!
Any idea what the buck
above is snacking on?
I just call them “cute.”
Wait, “buck”?
BOREAL FOREST
Siberian Flying
Squirrel