Geckos use their tails as insurance against falling, a quick mid-air flick of the tail is all it takes to land feet-down. The researchers found that like cats, geckos always land on their feet. Cameras revealed that falling geckos right themselves in approximately a tenth of a second. Footage: The gecko is released from an upside down (supine) posture. Counterclockwise tail rotation induces a clockwise rotation of the body. As the gecko’s body attains right-side up (prone) posture, the tail stopped rotating. The animal maintains a skydiving posture during the subsequent free fall. Courtesy of National Academy of Sciences, PNAS (Copyright 2008).

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