How Do Snakes 'Stand' Upright Nearly Stick-Straight? New Research Points to How They Pull Off the Gravity-Defying Feat
These clever creatures seem to concentrate their muscle activity near their bases, which helps them cross gaps between tree branches in the wild
Sarah Kuta - Daily Correspondent
April 2, 2026 10:00 a.m.
Bruce Jayne, a biologist at the University of Cincinnati, co-authored the new paper, which examined the locomotive abilities of three brown tree snakes (like the one pictured here) and a scrub python. Joseph Fuqua II / University of Cincinnati
Snakes are biological engineering marvels. They have no arms or legs, yet some of these creatures can stand nearly straight upright, erecting long lengths of their soft, flexible bodies vertically like flagpoles.
But how do snakes defy gravity and remain balanced in this seemingly precarious position? Scientists recently unraveled this biological mystery, and they say their findings could one day help improve the design of robots.
A snake climbing from one pipe to another with its body very straight in between
The scientists created a snake obstacle course involving two horizontal pipes placed at different vertical distances from one another. Bruce Jayne
To stand upright, snakes do not activate muscles throughout their bodies. Instead, they seem to concentrate muscle activity near their base, an efficient and stable strategy that reduces the energy the animals must expend while crossing gaps between tree branches in the wild, researchers report February 25 in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.
To stand upright, snakes do not activate muscles throughout their bodies. Instead, they seem to concentrate muscle activity near their base, an efficient and stable strategy that reduces the energy the animals must expend while crossing gaps between tree branches in the wild, researchers report February 25 in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.
“Snakes are kind of like muscular ropes,” says David Hu, a bioengineer and roboticist at Georgia Tech who was not involved with the research, to Science News’ Rohini Subrahmanyam. “They can basically perform magic tricks, flexing their bodies and preventing [themselves] from falling.”
More:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-do-snakes-stand-upright-nearly-stick-straight-new-research-points-to-how-they-pull-off-the-gravity-defying-feat-180988470/
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It tore right up to the top effortlessly!
Gotta add giant snakes to the list of beings who will follow you if you think you can escape them by climbing a tree!
Thank you, so much, for sharing that video of a huge constrictor. It was so intense an experience I'm not quite ready to see it again for a while! Wow!