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Most birds use their tails for balance and steering while flying. Some use them to show off and attract mates.
For birds that can't fly, the tail could just be for balance while running like with the ostrich.
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
Wiki User
∙ 10y agoMost mammals have tails. Humans have vestigial of a tail. Mammals have tails of different size, shape for various specific use. e.g For balance,movement guiding,defence,communication, display in courtship.
1. As mood/behavior expression : Wagging in Dogs for recognition or happiness.In cats for threat/aggression. A ducked tail usually to express fear in dogs, whereas an erect tail expresses a dominant territorial claim. The peacock and other species of fowls display their tail during courtship.
2. Balance /equilibrium : In flying squirrels/animals (also in birds)
Some gecko species use tails as extra insurance when on vertical surfaces. The tail of the blue whale for balance while in macaws is extremely long as to offest the weight of their beak. Without the long tail, they would tip over when perching.
3 Movement: Aquatic mammals and other animals that swim, use their tails like propellers to help move through the water with ease. Monkeys use the tail to swing and move.Beavers, otters, alligators, and sharks, are great examples of animals that use their tails to help movement in the water. The West African Dwarf Crocodile will tuck his legs under his body and use only his tail to propel through the water. Salmon, use their tails to up swim upstream to spawn. Horses, cows, buffalos, donkies,mule, zebra and many mammals with tail use use to swish and drive away insects & fly.
4: Defence:Some mammals use the tail to chase away insects on their body. Many reptile species rely on their tail to run from predators. When a larger reptile or mammal grabs a smaller gecko species by the tail, the gecko can drop the tail and scurry away. Another replacement tail will usually grow back in case of another attack.
Wiki User
∙ 12y agomany animals have tails but for different reasons. tails aid animals with balance, movement, defense, mating, and communication, for example dogs and cats have tails as signs of emotion and communication. horses to swat flies, birds use tails to stay balanced and movement through the air, aquatic animals use tails as propellers, and reptiles rely on their tails to run faster from predators.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoMost mammals have tails for balance. But say a bird has a tail for balance, speed and direction.
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Do mammals have hair on their tails?
Many do.
What mammals have tails?
Almost all mammals have tails. Other than human beings, and a few other primates, all mammals have tails. This includes cats and dogs and cows and sheep and mice and rats and otters and whales and zebras and elephants and horses and echidnas etc.
Do whales and sharks have the same tails?
No. Sharks, being fish, have vertical tails, while whales, being mammals, have horizontal tails.
What type of appendage do mammals have?
Mammals have forelimbs, hind limbs and tails. Even ears can be considered appendages.
Which mammals do not have tails?
Mammals that have fur but no tails include golden moles, some tenrecs, some bats, gibbons, gorillas, bonobos, orangutans, chimpanzees, two-toed sloths, capybaras, guinea pigs, and maras. There are also many furred mammals with only very short tails. There is a variety of house cats called Manx, some of which have no tails.
What do mammals use to move about?
Their arms, legs, tails,wings or fins.
Do lobster tails have nipples?
Lobsters are arthropods. Only mammals (and not all of those) have nipples.
Do wolves have fur?
Not all mammals have external, or visible tails. While not all mammals have external tails, they do, however, have vestigial tails, or remnants of a tail which can be seen in its skeleton. Examples of mammals with vestigial tails are humans (the coccyx), apes, wombats and koalas, just to name a few.
What do a gerbils look like?
They are small mammals that look sort of like hamsters except they have long tails.
How did killer whales evolve?
mammals evolved fat, lost tails, legs turned into fins etc.
What do all mongooses have in common?
They are all mammals, they all have tails, they all have the color brown on them and they all eat other animals.
What is the point of tails?
It depends on the animal; fish use them for locomotion, some large land mammals use them to swat away flies and biting insects, whilst some smaller, more agile mammals use them for balance. Tails are also used for social signaling, decoy limbs for predators and rudders for birds.
