Why do frogs jump?

Boing! A frog does not walk along like a cat or a dog. Instead it folds up and springs into the air. Why does a frog jump everywhere it goes?

Legs like springs

Look at a frog sitting still. Its back legs are very long and folded up tight, like a squashed spring. The legs are also packed with strong muscles.

When the frog wants to jump, it suddenly straightens those folded legs with a big push. All that stored-up power shoots the frog forward and up — boing! — far faster than it could ever run.

Jumping to stay safe

Out in the pond and grass, a frog has many hungry neighbours: birds, snakes and hungry fish. A frog cannot fight them, so its best trick is to leap away in a flash.

One huge jump can carry a frog far from danger, often straight into the water with a splash, where it can swim and hide.

Jumping to catch dinner

Frogs also leap to catch food. When a tasty fly buzzes past, a frog can spring towards it and snap it up with a quick, sticky tongue. Jumping helps a frog get its dinner before its dinner gets away.

Wonder fact: Some small frogs can jump more than twenty times their own body length — that is like you leaping over a whole school bus in one go!