Living trampolines: Animals That Can Jump High!

While we may bounce on our Vuly trampolines because it’s fun, for many animals, bouncing is a way of life: a means to escape from predators or simply reach the best food. The ability to jump high is necessary for survival. Today, we want to look at some of the most incredible bouncing species in the world. They don’t need Vuly trampolines to achieve their peek, but maybe you can use one to try and match them!

This one’s for all the personal record-beaters out there; we’ll tell you about the amazing creatures that walk (or should we say, jump) the Earth to whom you can compare your best bounce. Use an app like Trampofit—or one of the ones that we’ve spoken about previously—to measure your trampoline rebound, and compare it to these super-leapers.

Remember: When you’re trying reach your maximum jump, always be aware of the height of your safety enclosure. Never try ‘double bouncing’ with another person to increase your bounce height.

How High Can a Red Kangaroo Jump?

Kangaroos are renowned for their leaping; you’d be forgiven for thinking that the Aussie Red has the best bounce in the animal kingdom. While their horizontal leap of 9 metres is impressive, it’s only about 6 times their body length. 

Still, that’s far more than what even the best athletes can do on a trampoline; the record for highest trampoline bounce is 6.75 m, which is about 3.75 times the height of the average human. The world’s premier trampolinists would have to bounce twice just to match one bound of an average kangaroo!

How High Can a Klipspringers Jump?

While Kangaroos have a prodigious horizontal leap, the honour of highest vertical bounce amongst all mammals, relative to body size, goes to the Klipspringer. You wouldn’t guess by looking at them, but these African antelopes—with an average height of less than 1 m—can vertically jump an incredible 7.6m.

Klipspringers use this amazing ability to jump between, and tip-toe along, very small ledges on rock faces. Not only is the leap of the Klipspringer very tall, their tiny hooves are also extremely precise; one can jump between outcroppings no larger than an Australian dollar coin! This is the gold standard of vertical bouncing for mammals, like us.

How High Can a Jumping Spider Jump?

We’re not usually fans of spiders, and the freakish leap of the Jumping Spider puts us even more on edge! Over 5,000 species belong to the Jumping Spider family, and they’re named so for a reason; many can jump over 100 times their own body length. That’d be equivalent to a human jumping the length of two large aeroplanes! They use these leaps to creep up on, and surprise, their prey. 

Smaller critters, like bugs, are much better at leaping than mammals. Many have evolved complicated biological structures to generate the required energy and limbic control that larger creatures could never match. If you don’t like spiders, then perhaps even maintaining your distance won’t keep you safe!

How High Can a Flee Jump?

If there ever were a more trampoline-like animal in the world than the flea, we want to know about it! It’s the spring-like system of the flea’s legs that make them such widespread parasites. Fleas can dig the spines on their feet into the ground and then suddenly release this ‘coil’ to launch themselves to almost unthinkable distances and heights—220 times their own body length and 150 times their own body height. 

You could use a flea as a reference for an endurance challenge on your Vuly. How long would it take to bounce the equivalent of one of these uncanny bugs? Just for reference, when you have bounced the equivalent of a flea’s single leap, you’ll have done enough to leap over Infinity Tower, the tallest building in Brisbane!
 
We’re fascinated by those in the animal kingdom that can soar to heights that we can only dream of. What’s the highest that you can safely bounce on your Vuly?