Animal locomotion, from an ethnologist’s point of view, is any of an array of ways that animals use natural movement to travel from one location to another. Some natural ways of locomotion are more self-propelled, such as swimming, leaping, running, jumping, diving and gliding; some methods of locomotion are less self-propelled and more propelled by external stimuli, such as running on a treadmill, using ledges or walls, etc. Animals also travel with other living beings, including prey animals, as well as other vertebrates, birds, amphibians and reptiles. Most, but not all, terrestrial animals travel on the ground. Rodents, birds and reptiles can only climb trees; lizards and snakes can only slither along the ground. However, mammals, such as humans and dogs, can run quite fast, jump high and run long distances.
The primary driving force behind locomotion and movement is the movement of muscles, most of which are used for walking, running, leaping, swimming and climbing. The movement of muscles is most evident in the case of fast, abrupt movement, such as the flailing of an insect in the air or a fish swimming across the surface of a lake. There are four major categories of locomotion: aerobic, anaerobic, restricted and unconfined. Aerobic movement involves constant shortening and lengthening of the muscle without the need to change direction. Aerobic movements are natural and occur without causing damage. Anaerobic movements, on the other hand, require both a changing direction and the temporary removal of muscle bulk.
The most obvious example of locomotion is walking. It is the most common, regulated movement. While walking, the feet should move from one place on the foot to another over a distance of about one inch per step. Walking is one of the best ways to develop the coordinated movement of many body parts.
Moving in a similar fashion, but more slowly, are the movements of the large nervous system and internal organ systems such as the cardiovascular system and digestive system. When these organs are involved in locomotion, it is called locomotor activity. In fact, when animals and insects move, they must exert strong efforts to do so. In the case of human beings, locomotion takes place during sleep and the process of locomotion and movement can be divided into four phases: arousal, activity, maintenance, and recovery.
One of the first major forms of locomotion that people observe are the heart beat rhythm and breathing pattern. When people are awake, the beating of their heart and breathing patterns can be observed. When we are asleep, the phenomenon known as sleep pseudopodium occurs. This is the opposite of normal or complete sleep which people have. The result is, the person is not breathing at all during the rapid eye movement stage of sleep.
The second type of locomotion is through the use of the limbs. It includes walking, running, jumping, trotting, climbing and swimming. All of these different types of locomotion takes place through the muscular action of the legs, torso and pelvis.
Another form of locomotion is through involuntary movements. An involuntary movement refers to any movement that is caused by the body without its awareness. These types of movements include blinking, involuntary muscle contractions, twitching, grunting, coughing, flapping, kicking and twisting.
There are also changes that take place in the various parts of an organism after it has been awake for awhile. There are times when a person is awake but is unable to move any of the body parts including, the eyes, mouth and nose. This is called sleep apnea. This is also an involuntary movement that happens while one is sleeping. This condition does not occur very often.