A tale of tails

Extending beyond the body, tails aren’t just forappearance. They have many functions, writes Rachna Chhabria

Do you know what a tail is? A tail is the hindmost part of an animal, a bird or an insect. More often than not, a tail is prolonged beyond the rest of the body. In a vertebrate it is the flexible extension of the backbone, in birds, a tail is the feathers at the hind part, and in insects it is the terminal appendage.

Tails are not there just for appearance. They have quite a bit of work to do. Cows swish their tails to brush away the flies constantly swarming their faces. Cows use their tails like fly swatters. Whoosh and the irritating fly is swept far away.

Monkeys swing from the branches of the trees by gripping the branches with their tails. They use their tail for support. Just imagine, if monkeys didn’t have a tail, how would they monkey around? Some monkeys also hold food with their tail.

Because dogs can’t talk, they use their tails for communication. They show their happiness by wagging their tails.

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The hippopotamus uses its tail in a unique way. A male hippo sprays its poop with its tail to mark its territory, so that other males don’t encroach his territory.

A fish uses its tail from side to side so that it can swim faster. A dolphin’s tail fins are horizontal, they are called fluke and are used to propel the dolphin out of the water so that it can breathe air whenever it needs it. The cute dolphins also use their tail to smack a fish out of the water, so that they can grab it when it falls down.

Scorpions have a dangerous use of their tails. A scorpion’s tail is tipped with a poisoned stinger. Scorpions defend themselves with their tails and sting their prey with their tail. Their tail is their weapon. They also use it to hunt their prey. After catching their prey/meal with their strong front pincers, scorpions move their tails into action and bring it up and over their body and inject a dose of their deadly poison into the prey’s body. The poor prey goes to sleep permanently.

Male peacocks are quite proud of their colourful tail trailing them. They display the beauty of their tails to attract and charm a female.

The clever lizard has the ability to shed its tail to escape its enemy. Luckily for the lizard, if it’s young, it can grow a new tail fast. Do you know how rats use their tails? The cunning rat balances itself with its tail when it’s climbing the walls and ropes. Now you know how rats reach everywhere.

The smart red panda uses its fluffy tail like a shawl. It wraps its tail around its body to keep itself warm in winter. It also uses its tail for balance as it moves over the branches of the trees.

The chirpy squirrel flips its bushy tail over its body like an umbrella, to keep itself cool in summer. A deer uses its tail like an alarm signal. It raises its tail, straight up in the air, to warn other deer of danger. The kangaroos propel themselves with their tail, to hop faster. Crocodiles thrust themselves out of the water, with their tails.

Woodpeckers have stiff tails that help them balance themselves against tree trunks. They use their tails for support. Pigeons need tail feathers for balance, as their tail feathers help them stay upright. You can say that a pigeon’s tail feathers act like a rudder, ensuring that the pigeon doesn’t crash into things and objects and also keep their balance while flying. These tail feathers are called rectrices and provide the birds with stability and control.

Lions too need their tails for balance. If you have seen a lion’s tail, you would have noticed the black tassel at its end. This black tassel makes its appearance when the lion is between five to seven months of age. This tassel helps the lion lead or guide the other lions through the long grass. What a unique purpose it has.

Now that you know so much about tails, you can consider yourself tailsmart!

(Rachna is a children’s author and columnist)