White men cant jump, but terrestrial leeches can.
The adventurous leech was encountered in Madagascars Ranomafana National Park.
The footageas well as a 2023 video showcasing the acrobaticswaspublishedtoday in Biotropica.
The jumping leech in action.Gif: Mai Fahmy/Gizmodo
But by the mid-20th century, the notion of jumping leeches was viewed more skeptically in scientific publications.
A lot of the history of this basically comes down to that question: What exactly is a jump?
The animals certainly move outwards from their leafy launchpad, andthe team arguesperhaps slightly upward.
Two leeches on a leaf, one of which jumps, in a 2023 video.Gif: Mai Fahmy
In other words, they jump.
Tessler said the leeches are likely jumping in their search for a host.
The leeches like to go for the eyes, she said.
Fahmy with a leech on her face. Leeches often land on their hosts from above in Madagascar.Photo: Mariah Donohue
When captured, the animals bloodmeals can be sampled to get an understanding of the animals in the rainforest.
The leech is basically a mobileenvironmental DNAlab.
Ill be going back to Madagascar for years to come, Fahmy said.
Ill have my eyes on the leeches.
We know so little about their biology, their natural history, their behaviors.
Theyre full of mystery.
News from the future, delivered to your present.
