Common frog © Dale Sutton/2020VISION
We all hike in different ways. Some people like to get from A to B as quickly and efficiently as possible. Others meander, exploring their way along the route. In the animal kingdom, there are even more options. You can find creatures that crawl, climb, float, fly, slither and slide.
Let’s discover some of the strangest and most impressive types of movement found in the wilds of the UK.
Why walk when you could cover more ground with a little jump? When you think of animals that hop, frogs are one of the first that come to mind. They use their long back legs to propel themselves forwards in short bounds – or long leaps if they need to move quickly!
When they aren’t flying, many birds also prefer to hop rather than walk. They bound across the ground like little wind-up toys. It’s more common in birds with short legs, who don’t spend most of their time on the floor. They can get further with a hop than they can with a step. Hopping is also a useful way to travel along thin twigs, where walking would be a bit of a tightrope act.
Some species take it to the next level. There are some amazing animal acrobats. Relative to its size, the common froghopper may have the highest jump in the world. This small bug can leap over 100 times its body length. That would be like a human jumping over a skyscraper! Froghoppers don’t rely on long legs for their leaps. They use a special leg-locking mechanism to build up power over time, finally releasing their hind legs in an explosive jump worthy of any superhero.
Common frog © Dale Sutton/2020VISION
For some animals, moving looks like a lot of effort. They edge forwards, slowly and laboriously. For an example, let’s look at moths from the Geometridae family. Their caterpillars are nicknamed inchworms or loopers for the way they move. They generally have six legs at the front of their body, with a couple of pairs of ‘fake legs’ at the rear. To get around, they move one half of their body at a time.
The front end scurries forwards on its true legs, or raises off the ground and reaches forwards. Then they scoot their rear end towards the front of their body, causing their back to arch up into a big hump or loop. They repeat this process over and over to slowly climb along branches or over the ground. It’s surprisingly satisfying to watch!
Brindled beauty caterpillar © Vaughn Matthews
Jetpacks are slowly shifting from science fiction into reality, but some animals have already mastered jet-propulsion. You might even find one in your local pond. Young dragonflies (known as larvae or nymphs) look slightly different to adults. They have no wings, are often squat and chunky, and they live underwater.
Dragonfly nymphs breathe though their bum, sucking in water and extracting oxygen from it. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, they can also shoot the water back out at high speeds to propel themselves forwards! They use this burst of speed to escape predators or charge at prey.
Dragonfly nymph © Niall Benvie/2020VISION
When it comes to getting around, flying is a useful skill. It’s incredible that so many animals have found a way to overcome gravity and take to the sky. There are birds that can glide for hours without flapping their wings, and tiny insects whose whirring wings can take them on continent-crossing journeys.
But not all animals need wings to get airborne. Spiders have plenty of legs, but they’re so small that it takes them a while to walk anywhere. To help them spread out and reach new areas, some spiders have found a way to harness the wind. Their secret weapon is silk.
When these young spiders feel the urge to travel, they climb to the top of a blade of grass, bush, fencepost, or any other vantage point, point their bum to the sky and release a thread of silk. The thread gets pulled by the wind, growing longer and longer. When it’s long enough, the spider is whisked up into the air!
This method of travel is known as ballooning, or sometimes kiting. It’s a risky strategy, as the spider has no control over where the wind carries it. It could drift a few metres or be blown hundreds of kilometres. But if it’s lucky, it’ll land somewhere with plenty to eat and fewer spiders to compete with.
Zebra jumping spider © Jon Hawkins – Surrey Hills Photography
These are just a few examples of the variety of movements in the animal kingdom. There’s so much more to explore, from centipedes with legs that move in waves, to eels that undulate through the water. Why not head outside and see what weird and wonderful movements you can discover!
