The 11 greatest animal jumps

Poetry in motion

The 11 greatest animal jumps

Animals are fearless beings. Breaching a chasm holds no fear for them. But unfortunately bravery does not always equate to skill, or proficiency.

We take a look at 10 of the most memorable animal jumps in history: elegant, powerful and mesmeric, all of them. In their own special way.


Cat

Snow is notoriously a tricky surface to work with, as Waffles was to find out to his cost.

Dog

Remember: just because your friend can jump over something, doesn't mean you can too.

Penguin

Can penguins jump? Surely their feet are too restricted - and they can't fly. Well, this penguin didn't listen to the haters - truly epic.

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Turtle

Truly majestic. Poetry in motion.

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Squirrel

We're really not sure what our furry friend was trying to achieve here. Maybe he just wanted to go viral on YouTube. It worked.

Raccoon

The ability to judge distances is crucial in any jump. This raccoon may need to work on that a little.

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Human

Water is a liquid, ice is a solid. Remember they taught you that at school? Oh, you weren't listening.

Penguin #2

You are gold. Gold. Always believe in your soul.

Cat #2

Cats can't fly. But this one didn't know the meaning of the word 'can't'. It does now.

Turtle #2

Just as majestic as his brother earlier on the list. And a showman too - being broadcast on TV. This turtle is destined for big things.

Hamster/dog

Who knew hamsters were so proficient at mind control?

Marc Chacksfield
Content Director

As Content Director of Shortlist, Marc likes nothing more than to compile endless lists of an evening by candlelight. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.