Hello scudsucker. If you have any evidence for an animal raising it’s center of gravity more than 48” (1.2 meters) I’d be interested in seeing or reading it. The last time I dived into this was 13 years ago, and back then the best evidence offered, by @emcee2k , was this video of Savannah cats jumping next to a measuring stick.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vprEInOl1o0
My comment was:
Based on the slow-mo image at 3:32, the kitty’s head reached 7’3" (87") and the length of the fully stretched cat was about 39" from paw to head top. (Measured against the ruling stick in the same frame.) So, the head top moved 48" vertical inches, pretty much straight up. That’s 120% of a meter. Pretty good. We can’t see if it’s a standing (rather than a running) jump, but I believe it is.
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There are some new videos since 2012!
I searched for about 15 minutes, and found some interesting ones.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/IYWppxLwaJc
That one is fascinating because at 17 secs you can see the cat use its back paws to boost itself up a mostly smooth wall. I suspect that at normal speed it would be hard to detect that little boost. The video isn’t useful evidence because we have no idea how deep the pit is, or how long the cat is.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qerL893QDTY
This features a tiger leaping to grab a big slab of meat. The tiger’s hips stop elevating at the 14 sec mark, and his feet are beginning to get pulled up — I’d say the jump is about level with the middle insulators(?) on the fence, Doesn’t seem as high as the Savannah cats.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/EMbNvHItp2s
This has cougars leaping for meat. You can’t tell how high they’re jumping, but it’s fun watching them.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Ac50gAK0JVU
This one looks like the cougar is jumping a legit 7 feet in the air. Damn impressive — until you notice the cat is actually climbing the chain link fence.
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The thread where the Savannah cat video was originally posted:
https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realitychuck-youre-an-ignorant-twat/612567/137
Another decent video from that thread.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUuiMwhBDsQ
It’s a cougar video. The best image is at 47 secs
My comment was:
It’s hard to say exactly how high the cat’s back paws get off the ground. Sometimes they’re pulled up, but sometimes they are stretched out full. I think that by the time they’re stretched out full, the cat’s pelvis has stopped rising and the legs are swinging up sideways.
Kitty’s feet might go above the man’s navel. (But not up to the pecs.) We don’t know how tall the man is, and the camera angle is good, but could still introduce some misperceptions.
I’m 5’11" and my navel is 41" high.