Researchers filmed five tree frogs making hundreds of jumps in the lab onto poles of various diameters—ranging from dime-size to the width of a toilet paper roll. The amphibians made split-second adjustments depending on the pole’s diameter and how far off course they had veered. They either sailed past their targets before grabbing on with a sticky-padded hand or foot at the last moment, or belly-flopped heavily against the surface and embraced it… Force sensors under the poles showed that landing on vertical surfaces puts the least stress on the leaping frogs’ bodies. This raises the broader ecological question of whether sticky-footed animals prefer a vertical landing zone when one’s available, the team says.

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