A new study on bull frogs proved that with the right motivation, the amphibians could make record-breaking jumps and even make it in the Guinness Book of World Records.
A team of researchers from Brown University led by biologist Thomas Roberts working on a laboratory for bull frogs (Rana catesbeiana) were very interested to find out why there was a huge gap between the recorded jumps in-lab which is up to 4.2 feet and those at the Calaveras County Fair’s frog-jumping competitions which records at 7.15 feet. Thus, they set out to Angels Camp and conduct an investigation as to how the Calaveras bull frogs could beat the records of in-lab subjects.
The Jumping Frog Jubilee at the Calaveras County Fair is an annual event inspired by Mark Twain’s The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County (1865). It started in 1893 wherein frog jumping participants would catch a frog from rivers like the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and then let them go after the contest.
The study involved covering the frog-jumping event in high quality videos to record the jumps. Amazingly, even the amateur challengers had higher scores than in-lab bull frogs. Out of the 3,124 jumps documented, about 58 percent (1,804 jumps) had better jumps than from those in the laboratories. At the recent event, the highest jumper had a 7.2 feet record.
The researchers also found that the participants are taking the competition very seriously. Frog jockeys hardly disclose how they motivate the frogs to jump so high. Trade secrets seem to be much protected among them. The scientists believe that those techniques are very effective.
The team was able to learn a few tips that they could work on inside their laboratory. They could focus on minute details around the visual surroundings of bull frogs and the quality of frogs that they capture. Warm temperatures in its habitat could also work to amplify the power of the leg muscles for the jump. It seemed that professional frog jumping participants also rub the legs of the frogs then drop them face down on a starting pad to motivate them to jump.
The study was published in the Oct. 16 issue of the Journal of Experimental Biology.
