16 February 2009

Remarkable view of feline physiology



This video seems to have been created and spreads because of an intrinsic "cute" factor, inherent in most cat videos. I'm posting it for another reason - because it shows the absolutely astounding beauty of the physiology of a running feline.

These are Bengal cats running on an exercise wheel. When they reach "equilibrium" with the wheel, you can see the body "stationary" at the bottom, with the legs extending for the sprint. This is a much better view than that seen in the typical African nature documentary where the camera pans horizontally, trying to track a running cat or its prey.

One can't help but marvel at how uncounted millennia of adaptation and selection pressures have fine-tuned the muscles, joints, and coordination to such a pinnacle of power and speed.

Yes, it is a "cute cat" video - but it's more than that. Watch the cat at the 2:12 mark kick it into overdrive...

Via Joanne Casey's I Have Seen The Whole of the Internet.

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