When Hippos Fly: Hippopotamuses Can Move So Fast They Become Airborne

Analysis shows hippos get all four feet off the ground simultaneously for up to 15% of the time when running at full speed

© by GrrlScientist for Forbes | LinkTr.ee

For a brief moment lasting 0.3 seconds per stride, some hippos ‘fly’ by simultaneously lifting all four feet off the ground. (Credit: Johan Vermeulen / Royal Veterinary College)

Apparently, hippos CAN fly. This is the conclusion reached by the authors of a study out of the University of London’s Royal Veterinary College, which discovered that when hippos move at full speed on land, all four of their feet are regularly in the air for brief moments.

The common hippopotamus, Hippopotamus amphibius, also known as the Nile hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. There are two species of hippos, the other being the pygmy hippo. Hippos are among the largest living land mammals, with adult males averaging 1,500 kg (3300 pounds) and females 1,300 kg (2866 pounds). For such a massive animal, they also move surprisingly fast — some reaching speeds of up to 30 km/hr (18.6 mph). (For reference, the average human’s running speed is around 13 kph, and even Usain Bolt could only very briefly reach 44.7 kph.)

But how, exactly, do hippos move — and so quickly? Some previous studies claim hippos use a standard quadrupedal walk, with a footfall sequence of left hind, left fore, right hind, and right fore — similar to elephants…