Jumpers

Whilst we may marvel at the long or high jumping abilities of our top Olympic athletes, their prowess is overshadowed by some of the animal kingdom’s really big jumpers. Here’s a selection of 10 of the world’s best jumpers.

Bharal

Bharal live in the Himalayas and are one of the best jumpers among animals. They’re adapted to jump from cliff to cliff and hill to hill.

Hares

Hares are one of fastest animals which have great ability to jump. They can run up to 72 km/hr, hard to get caught by predators.

Red Kangaroo

Red Kangaroos are the fastest jumper among all mammals. They can jump with speed up to 56 km/hr.

Klipspringer

Klipspringer are around 1.5 m tall and can jump 10 times their own body height. They are highest jumper among all mammals compared to body size.

Grasshopper

Grasshoppers can jump 20 times their own body length. Imagine a person who can jump as long as basketball court.

The Kangaroo Rat

The Kangaroo Rat can jump 45 times its own body length. They are longest jumper among all mammals compared to body size.

Froghopper

Froghoppers can jump 70 times their own body height. They’re the 2nd highest jumper among animals compared to body size. However, froghoppers generate the most force per body weight of any animal when jumping - more than 400 times their body weight. They initially accelerate at 4,000 metres per second per second and in a millisecond reach a take-off velocity of four metres per second.

Jumping Spider

The Jumping Spider can jump 100 times its own body length. Imagine a person who can jump as long as 2 jumbo jets.

Tree Frog

Tree Frogs can jump 150 times their own body length. They are 2nd longest jumping among animals compared to body size.

Flea

It is usually claimed that the best jumper in the world is the Flea. They are longest and highest jumper among animals compared to body size. Fleas can jump 220 times their own body length and 150 times their own body height. If we were to scale up a flea to our size it would be like us jumping nearly 400m in distance whilst jumping over a 250m high building! Now that’s a big jump!