a short tail on an animal means its close to the body ... so it most of the mass of the animal will always be in the same area the chest of the animal..
for a long tail animal like a squirrel some of the mass of the squiirrel is in the tail if the squirrel lifts its tail vertically up then that changes the center of mass of the squirrel to a higher position then a squirrel with no tail
so the center of gravity would be higher up in the body and if the tail is sufficiently heavy can be even outside the body of the squirrel
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If the animal is sitting on a branch, it all depends on whether the long tail is pointed up or pointed down.
A long tail that is hanging lower than an animals feet will not give the animal a higher center of gravity.
A long tail enables an animal to shift it's center of gravity HIGHER, LOWER, HORIZONTALLY, FORWARD or BACKWARD.
This is very beneficial to tree animals that jump between branches.
Short tails provide a CONSISTENT center of gravity.
a short tail on an animal means its close to the body ... so it most of the mass of the animal will always be in the same area the chest of the animal..
for a long tail animal like a squirrel some of the mass of the squiirrel is in the tail if the squirrel lifts its tail vertically up then that changes the center of mass of the squirrel to a higher position then a squirrel with no tail
so the center of gravity would be higher up in the body and if the tail is sufficiently heavy can be even outside the body of the squirrel