High-speed hippos can get airborne, says new study

Jack Guy, CNN

(CNN) — Hippos tin get airborne erstwhile moving astatine precocious speeds complete land, according to a caller study.

This is nan first clip that nan animals, which tin measurement much than 2,000 kilograms (2.2 tons) and walk overmuch of their clip successful water, person been recovered to assistance each 4 limbs disconnected nan crushed erstwhile moving quickly, according to a connection from nan Royal Veterinary College (RVC) successful nan UK.

After analyzing videos showing 169 activity cycles from 32 hippos, researchers recovered that nan fastest-moving animals walk astir 15% of each stride disconnected nan ground.

John Hutchinson, study lead writer and a professor of evolutionary biomechanics astatine nan RVC, told CNN that very small was known astir nan measurement that hippos move connected land.

“Hippos were a large missing portion of nan puzzle,” he said. “They’re really difficult to study.”

Not only do they walk a batch of clip successful water, they are “very fierce and dangerous” and are much progressive astatine night, said Hutchinson.

In nan videos studied by researchers, hippos tended to move accelerated erstwhile thing motivated them, specified arsenic chasing a rival hippo aliases being chased by lions aliases rhinos, he said.

The squad besides recovered that hippos almost exclusively trot – pinch 2 diagonal limbs moving successful nan aforesaid guidance astatine nan aforesaid time, and past nan 2 different diagonal limbs – nary matter what velocity they are moving at, whereas different mammals specified arsenic horses move from a locomotion to a trot to a gallop depending connected their speed.

“Hippos are 1 of nan very fewer 4 legged animals astatine each that conscionable trot,” said Hutchinson. “That was a beautiful neat finding.”

The results could thief pass nan measurement that hippos are kept successful captivity, arsenic good arsenic helping to observe and show whether hippos are suffering beingness issues, said Huntchinson.

One sample video that showed a babe pygmy hippo galloping has provided Hutchinson pinch a jumping disconnected constituent for early research, he said, adding he wants to analyse whether mini hippos, specified arsenic babe hippos and babe pygmy hippos, are capable to gallop but suffer this expertise erstwhile they grow.

The study was published Wednesday successful nan diary PeerJ.