(Found) Short story ending with human turning to lizard form to explore planet

[Lard]

hi. I remember reading this short story whilst at school in the mid to late 1970s. It was part of a collection but this story stood out for me. From what I remember it involved a mission to a mysterious new planet where the only way to explore it was by turning humans into lizard like creatures that were native to the planet. The main character was concerned that his two colleagues had turned themselves into lizards but then failed to return. He turned himself into a lizard and realised that the intellectual capacity of the lizard was far in excess of that of a human, so why return and turn back? I recall him looking at a waterfall and easily working out a complex equation to describe the flow of the water.

Any ideas? I would love to read it again

 

[BAYLOR]

I hope you find the answer to your question because that sounds like a very interesting story.

 

[2DaveWixon]

I hope you find the answer to your question because that sounds like a very interesting story.

I'm sure that was "Desertion" by Clifford D. Simak -- one of the very best sf stories of all time, in my opinion. It can be found in the compilation that goes under the title City.
No doubt in my mind -- you gave so many details, I cannot be wrong.
(It was not a waterfall, because the story took place on Jupiter -- and the entire point of the humans taking new bodies was that those new bodies would allow them to explore the planet, which they could not do in their human bodies...)
Go find it -- it's a great story!

 

[Lard]

I'm sure that was "Desertion" by Clifford D. Simak -- one of the very best sf stories of all time, in my opinion. It can be found in the compilation that goes under the title City.
No doubt in my mind -- you gave so many details, I cannot be wrong.
(It was not a waterfall, because the story took place on Jupiter -- and the entire point of the humans taking new bodies was that those new bodies would allow them to explore the planet, which they could not do in their human bodies...)
Go find it -- it's a great story!

Thanks 2DaveWixon, that's the one! I had forgotten about the dog and that it was set on Jupiter but brought back memories of when I first read it almost 40 years ago. BTW it does have a waterfall only an ammonia one. You have made my day.

 

[2DaveWixon]

Thanks 2DaveWixon, that's the one! I had forgotten about the dog and that it was set on Jupiter but brought back memories of when I first read it almost 40 years ago. BTW it does have a waterfall only an ammonia one. You have made my day.