Jul 09, 2024 14:00:00

It is revealed that hippos, the largest land mammals, have the ability to float in the air

Hippos , which mainly live in water, are large terrestrial mammals that can reach a body length of 3.5 to 4 meters and weigh more than 2,000 kg. A study by the Royal Veterinary School, University of London, reported that hippos have the ability to float in the air while moving at high speeds on the ground.

Footfall patterns and stride parameters of Common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) on land [PeerJ]
https://peerj.com/articles/17675/

Hippos might fly: UK research discovers animals can get airborne | Animals | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/03/hippos-might-fly-uk-research-discovers-animal-can-get-airborne

A research team led by John Hutchinson of the Royal Veterinary College, University of London, filmed 32 hippos running and analyzed 169 different

videos . As a result of the investigation, it was confirmed that hippos run in a ' trot ' style when chasing other hippos or when being chased by lions or rhinos.

Hippo 'flies' lifting all four hooves in fast trot - YouTube


Trotting is a running style in which diagonally opposite legs move forward at the same time to land. During a trot, all four legs leave the ground at one point, and the hippo's back also moves up and down. According to the research team, at their peak speed, the hippo completely left the ground for about 15% of each stride.

'Hippos spend most of their time in the water and are very

aggressive and dangerous animals, which makes them very difficult to study, and until now we knew very little about how they navigate on land,' Hutchinson said.

Other large terrestrial mammals, such as horses, rhinos and giraffes, are known to change their running style depending on their speed, so it has been pointed out that hippos that only trot are very rare. 'This is a rare discovery,' said Hutchinson.

According to Hutchinson, the results of this study may not only help improve hippo breeding methods, but also help identify and monitor hippos with physical problems. In addition, the research team reports that since it was confirmed that pygmy hippos only gallop when they are young, they will continue to study the loss of the ability to gallop as they grow.