(CNN) — Humans have many wonderful qualities, but we lack something that’s a common feature among most animals with backbones: a tail. Exactly why that is has been something of a mystery. Tails are ...

Tails might look like nature’s afterthought but for many animals, they’re multitasking power tools. Whether it’s balancing, fighting, flirting, or escaping predators, tails do way more than just wag.