Of course, hippos cannot fly. How can these animals, which normally weigh thousands of pounds, even fly? It turns out they basically can; it only took some high-speed videos and some experts to prove it.
Evolutionary biomechanics specialists John Hutchinson and Emily Pringle from the Royal Veterinary College at the University of London have made a surprising discovery: hippopotamus can momentarily lift all four feet off the ground while running, creating an effect similar to flying (via Phys.org).
Hippos are huge animals-males can weigh an average of 1,500 kg and females 1,300 kg-making them one of the heaviest land mammals.
What's surprising is that these water-loving giants can run up to 30 kilometers per hour, so much faster than the average human.
However, scientists have not been able to study their running style much because hippos are dangerous to be around.
Two researchers, Hutchinson and Pringle, wanted to learn more. They set up high-speed cameras at Flamingo Land resort in North Yorkshire and filmed 32 different hippos running. They captured 169 running cycles in total.
What they discovered was amazing. When running at top speed, hippos actually lift all four feet off the ground 15% of the time. Each time they are airborne lasts about 0.3 seconds.
"We were pleasantly surprised to see how hippos get airborne when they move quickly - it's really impressive," said Hutchinson.
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While elephants walk and rhinos gallop, hippos have a unique way of moving: they trot. This means they move their legs in diagonal pairs, like a horse would. Interestingly, hippos stick to this trot no matter how fast they go, never switching to other gaits like cantering or galloping.
The researchers found that hippos control their speed by changing how long their feet stay on the ground or in the air. This allows them to keep their trotting pattern consistent even at different speeds.
The study also revealed that hippos usually run fast when chased by another hippo, often to show dominance. This highlights the importance of speed in their social interactions.
In addition to their terrestrial agility, hippos exhibit similar locomotion patterns in water. Although hippos are unable to swim, they trot along the bottom of rivers and lakes, using their buoyancy to move efficiently.
But why bother studying the gait of hippos? Apparently, discovering that hippos can briefly run in the air is a game-changer for veterinarians, who can now better identify when a captive hippo is struggling to move.
It also teaches people more about how these massive animals get around in the wild, which is useful knowledge for studying other large mammals.
This study is a fascinating reminder that even the biggest creatures can have surprising talents - in this case, running so fast they take to the air for a moment.