Slow-motion video of a flying snake in side view 5 (2019)

Slow-motion video of a glide of the flying snake Chrysopelea paradisi (the paradise tree snake) in experimental conditions. Movies were recorded with a high-speed videocamera (Fastec TS5) in a field in Blacksburg, VA, just outside of Virginia Tech, in fall 2019. In this experiment, snakes launched under their own power by jumping from a branch from a mechanical lift, from heights in the range of 14 to 18 meters. The white marks on the back of the snake are spots of non-toxic paint, used to calculate the position of the body in later analyses. The white pole structure on the ground was a mount for an array of GoPro cameras. This slow-motion video was recorded in side view of the trajectory by Dr. Mary Salcedo (), who moved the camera rapidly to track the snake as it glided. Dr. Jake Socha directed the experiments and worked with the snakes from the top of the lift. Other people assisting with this research include Talia Weiss, Josh Pulliam, Maria Gonzalez, Michelle Graham, Ja