Researchers led by Professor John Hutchinson at the Royal Veterinary College in Hertfordshire analyzed footage of hippopotamuses in motion, revealing their ability to get airborne for brief periods.
The researchers analyzed video footage to understand the locomotion patterns of hippos, which can weigh over 2,000 kilograms, making them among the largest land animals.
When trotting at full speed, hippos can have all four feet off the ground for up to 15% of the time, with periods of being airborne lasting up to 0.3 seconds.
This finding challenges previous assumptions that hippos, like other large land animals, exclusively use a quadrupedal walk. Instead, the study shows that hippos trot with diagonal feet moving simultaneously, similar to horses.
The research highlights the athletic prowess of hippos, placing them between elephants and rhinos in terms of their ability to push the limits of what giant land animals can achieve.
Sources: The Guardian, Independent, Express & Star
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq.
