Today I learned another shocking secret in the animal kingdom.
Flying squirrels’ fur glows hot pink under ultraviolet light. Bright, brilliant, bubblegum pink! As if these little guys weren’t cool enough with their ability to soar through the sky, right?
This makes North American flying squirrels one of the few mammals on our planet known to flouresce, which basically means that they absorb light in one colour and emit it in another.
One of the best parts about discovering this amazing fact? I wasn’t looking for it! Which, funny enough, is also how researchers discovered that flying squirrels have this ability. They were busy using a UV flashlight to scan the canopy of a North American forest (where flying squirrels are found), looking for plants, fungi, and frogs.
Meanwhile, I was busy researching something else for another project of mine—and then I just happened to randomly stumble upon this little gem.
I LOVE when this happens.
I also love squirrels and the colour pink.
