The Fascinating Climbing Abilities of Geckos: An Animal of the Week Feature

Geckos are our animals of the week for their incredible climbing abilities. These small creatures have tiny hairs on their toes that divide into spatula-like forks, measuring in nanometers. This structure creates a van der Waals force between the molecules on the gecko’s feet and the surface it is climbing.

The van der Waals force is relatively weak, but due to the millions of attachment points on a gecko’s foot, they can hang from ceilings and walls. By flexing their toes, geckos can release themselves from these surfaces, similar to how Velcro works. Additionally, the gecko’s legs have a water-repellent surface that allows them to climb wet surfaces like glass walls.

There are over a thousand species of geckos, and most of them have impressive climbing feats. These creatures are truly fascinating with their unique adaptations that allow them to climb and explore their surroundings with ease. One interesting fact about geckos is that they cannot climb Teflon as its molecules do not provide the same electrical adhesion surface as other surfaces.