The current world record for the long jump is held by Mike Powell from the USA, who jumped 29.4 feet in 1968. That’s about 5 times the length of an average human man. That’s pretty far! But there is another member of the primate family that can leave that record in the dust. An African
The current world record for the long jump is held by Mike Powell from the USA, who jumped 29.4 feet in 1968. That’s about 5 times the length of an average human man. That’s pretty far! But there is another member of the primate family that can leave that record in the dust.
An African bushbaby, or galago, measures about 7 inches long, but can leap distances of over 20 feet! That’s over twenty-six times it’s body length! If a human could manage a leap like that, we could jump almost twice the length of a basketball court!
The bushbaby can accomplish these incredible jumps because of the extremely strong, stretchy tendons in its back legs. These special tendons are almost like super-powered legs that let the bushbaby jump much farther than an animal of its size should be able to. Its long tail helps control the leap, and it flattens its limbs to its sides to help it jump farther.
The bushbaby gets its name from its childlike appearance, and from the cries it makes that sound just like a human baby. They eat insects, but they only come out at night, which could make catching insects hard. Fortunately, they have big eyes to help them see better, and large batlike ears to help them find their prey. They can even catch insects in mid-leap! When bushbabies hunt at night, they look almost like they’re flying through the trees!
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