Why do smaller mammals move intermittently?

Smaller mammals move in short bursts because their bodies heat up quickly when they run.

Imagine you're playing on a swing, you go swish back and forth, but if you keep going nonstop, you get tired fast. That’s what happens to small mammals like mice or shrews. When they run, their bodies get hot very quickly because they have less body mass compared to their size.

Think of a tiny mouse running around in the forest, it's like a little kid zooming around on a tricycle. They can go zoom, zoom, zoom for a while, but soon they get hot and need to rest for a bit so they can cool down before going again.

If they ran all the time, like a big animal such as a deer or an elephant, they’d use up too much energy, and their bodies would overheat. So instead, they take little breaks between running, it’s like taking a short nap after playing hard.

This way, they can keep moving and exploring without getting too hot or tuckered out!