Why do animals have tails?

MOST animals with tails use them for balance. Cats, which like to climb on things, are especially notable about this.

Animals which have PREHENSILE tails, liek certain monkeys, can use them to grasp things, like tree branches.

Other animals., like elephants or cows, well . . . . who knows?

Ever watch a person on a tightrope? They have a big stick to help them balance, well animals use their tail to help balance when climbing.

10 reasons why animals have tail

1. For Attack

Many animals use their tails for self-defense, but for the scorpion the tail is also used as a weapon for attack. In addition to defense, when a scorpion catches prey in its front pincers, it then uses its tail to deliver a deadly dose of poison to its victim.

2. Grasping/Holding

What’s the difference between a monkey and an ape? Monkeys have tails, apes don’t. Some monkeys have what are called prehensile tails, which function as an extra limb allowing the monkey to hold and grasp objects. Monkeys’ prehensile tails are used to swing from branches and hold onto food. (Anteaters and opossums also have prehensile tails.)

3. Flight

A bird’s tail is made up of feathers called rectrices. These are used for stability and control, as birds use their tails as rudders to help them steer.

4. Courtship

Peacocks use their tails to help attract a mate. Interestingly, each peacock’s tail is unique, like a fingerprint.

5. To Swat Pests

Animals that have long tails with tufts of hair on the end or throughout (like cows, horses, and zebras) use their tails to swat away flies and other insect pests.

6. Marking Territory

Many animals spread feces to mark their territory, but the hippopotamus can twirl its tail like a propeller while it poops, which allows its feces to be spread far and wide.

7. Defense

Tails help animals escape predators in a number of amazing ways. Rattlesnakes use their tails to sound an audible warning, while certain lizards have tails that detach from their bodies so they can escape even after they’re caught. Three-banded armadillos can even fit their head and tail together like a puzzle, rolling into an armored ball.

8. Locomotion

Fish and marine mammals use their tails to move through the water. Fish tails move side to side while marine mammals’ tails move up and down, which allows them to propel themselves out of the water when they need to breathe air.

9. Balance

Many animals use their tails to help them balance. Your cat is one of them, as are squirrels – both examples of animals that have an amazing ability to navigate perilous terrain.

10. Communication

Animals also use their tails to communicate, and this includes your dog and cat. Cats’ tails, for instance, can display many emotions, such as fear, excitement, and irritation. Your dog’s tail wags can indicate happiness or friendliness, and they also help your dog communicate with other dogs.

Recent research suggests that when dogs feel stress, they tend to wag their tails to the left as a reflection of what's happening in the brain.2 Activation of the left-brain causes the tail to wag to the right; activation of the right brain produces a wag to the left.

The research shows that dogs wag to the right side when they encounter something pleasant. When they see something threatening, for example, a strange dog exhibiting dominant behaviors, they wag more to the left side.

These results suggest that dogs notice another dog's tail wagging and use the information to decide whether the dog with the wagging tail is friend or foe. What do other tail positions mean (among dogs, at least)?

A tail held high is a sign of dominance. The dog will release more of their scent from their anal glands this way, thus making their presence known

A tail held high and wagging is often a sign of happiness

A tail held horizontal to the ground means your dog is exploring

A low-wagging tail is a sign of worry or insecurity

A tail tucked between the legs is a sign of fear or submission (this position also prevents his scent from being released)

And Two Bonus Tail Uses…

Some animals, such as foxes, use their tails to keep warm during the winter. Others, like alligators, use them to store fat.

Form follows function. If tails are useful, many animals will evolve tails or they will retain the tail inherited from their ancestors. Tails are useful for many animals but useless for some. Apes and humans lack tails because the tail is useless for us. Our ancestors, when they were monkeys still had a tail because the tail helped them balance themselves in the trees. Monkeys walk on top of branches, and the tail is good balance. Apes, OTOH, brachiate, or they move around by using the forearms to swing around the branches (sort of like how children play on "monkey" bars in the playground), so the tail is not useful at all. It is just extra weight and may in fact makes it harder for the brachiating ape to balance itself.

Going back further in time, to about half a billion years ago, our ancestor was a fish, and fish swim with their tails. Many fish still do that. Then about 355 million years ago, one fish evolved to be an amphibian and started living on land. The amphhibians kept their tails because they still went back to water to breed, and they still used their tail to swim. Living amphibians like the salamanders and newts still swim with their tails. Frogs, OTOH, lost their tail through evolution because they swim using their hindlegs. The way they move on land, by jumping, also made the tail not only useless, but a hindrance to jumping.

When one amphibian evolved to be reptiles, the tail is retained, because it also has many uses. The tail may be used for swimming if a reptile finds itself in water. For example, some lizards, such as the green iguana, will drop from a tree into the water below when they are frightened, and they will swim using their tails. Birds evolved from a reptile and the early birds had a long tail to help them create lift, the force that keeps them in the air. Birds now have a short tail, but the tail is still used for braking and steering when they fly.

Most mammals still have tails after they evolved from a reptile because tails serve many functions, such as helping the animal balance when they run. The horse for example use its tail to balance itself when running. Whales are mammals, and they swim with their tails. The snow leopard has a very long tail, because it helps them balance themselves when they chase prey animals on steep slopes. The tail is less useful for some rodents (such as voles) so some of them have shorter tails. Rabbits also have rather short tails because the tail is rather useless. Kangaroos, OTOH, have long tails to help balance themselves when hopping.

Tails were also useful for dinosaurs. Many of them walked on two legs, and the tail provides a counterweight to the part of the body in front of the hindlegs, so that when they run, they won't fall down because they are too front heavy. Some other uses for tails include fly swapping. For example, flies often congregate at the rear end of animals because they are attracted to the smell of feces. By moving the tail, a pig or cow can reduce the number of flies that will land on their anal areas to cause itching. Tails can also be used for defense, as lizards may lose their tail to save themselves. Crocodiles and some dinosaur also use their tails as whips to defend themselves. Crocs also swim with their tails.

In sum, many animals find their tails useful and therefore they have tails. When tails are useless or when they are a nuisance, they can be lost through evolution.

they need something too keep the flies away

why do people have legs?