bbc.co.uk navigation

Kangaroo hopping over dry grassland

Adapted to jumping

Jumping is a method some animals have evolved to get around efficiently. Gerbils, kangaroos, frogs and grasshoppers have all evolved long pairs of legs with large muscles positioned at the back of their body for maximum hopping power. Other mechanisms include the spring-like 'tail' of the aptly named springtail, which is coiled under tension so that when it's released the animal is propelled upwards.

Did you know?
A springtail's leap is equivalent to a human jumping over the Eiffel Tower.

Watch video clips from past programmes (11 clips)

In order to see this content you need to have an up-to-date version of Flash installed and Javascript turned on.

View all 11 video clips

About

Jumping or leaping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jumping can be distinguished from running, galloping, and other gaits where the entire body is temporarily airborne by the relatively long duration of the aerial phase and high angle of initial launch.

Some animals, such as the kangaroo, employ jumping (commonly called hopping in this instance) as their primary form of locomotion, while others, such as frogs, use it only as a means to escape predators. Jumping is also a key feature of various activities and sports, including the long jump, high jump, and show jumping.

Read more at Wikipedia

This entry is from Wikipedia, the user-contributed encyclopedia. If you find the content in the 'About' section factually incorrect, defamatory or highly offensive you can edit this article at Wikipedia. For more information on our use of Wikipedia please read our FAQ.

Behaviours

Other Locomotion behaviours

BBC News about Adapted to jumping

Video collections

Take a trip through the natural world with our themed collections of video clips from the natural history archive.

  • African Wildlife African Wildlife

    Sir David Attenborough's Africa series took over four years to make and has brought us eye to eye with the continent's incredible wildlife in spectacular ways.

  • This is Planet Earth This is Planet Earth

    Narrated by Sir David Attenborough Planet Earth was the ground-breaking series that explored the wild and beautiful parts of our planet like never before.

  • Nature's record breakers Nature's record breakers

    Animal kingdom record breakers - how fast can a cheetah run, how heavy is an elephant and what's bigger than a dinosaur? Watch amazing video clips from the BBC archive and uncover the fascinating facts about our smallest primate, the longest stick insect and the most venomous snake.

  • David Attenborough's Madagascar David Attenborough's Madagascar

    Like nowhere else on Earth, the mystery and magic of Madagascar leaves a vivid impression on all those who visit, and none more so than David Attenborough.

  • George's marvellous minibeasts George's marvellous minibeasts

    A video collection featuring bugs and insects in amazing close up selected by insect expert and TV presenter George McGavin, with Goliath spiders, killer centipedes, ants and moths.

  • David Attenborough's favourite moments David Attenborough's favourite moments

    Watch the most memorable moments from an incredible career watching wildlife, chosen by Sir David from the BBC archive.

BBC © 2013 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.