UK research revealed that hippos can fly despite their huge size

Hippo (Representative Image - Canva)

Researchers of the Royal Veterinary College located in the UK, have done research and revealed a discovery on hippos that they can fly. According to the researcher when hippos reach their top speed they tend to lift off their feet while running at high speed.

Hippos have the highest speed of up to 19 mph (30 kmh), while running they touch the ground for 0.3 seconds, which helps them to protect themselves from predators. Hippos have brief aerial phases when they are at full speed despite being giant land creatures that often laze around in the water but research has proved to be a shocking discovery.

This claim was cited in the research published in the Guardian, which offers new information on the physiology of the hippos.

The discovery fills a significant gap in scientific knowledge, positioning hippos somewhere between elephants and rhinos regarding the athletic abilities exhibited by some of the largest land animals when they need to move quickly.

Understanding where hippos fit on the spectrum of athletic prowess among heavy land animals provides new insights into their behaviour, physiology, and evolutionary adaptations.

John Hutchinson, a professor of evolutionary biomechanics part of this research said, “I’ve struggled to get any work done on hippos before because they’re so hard to access,” he further added, “They’re incredibly dangerous, they tend to be most active at night, and they spend a lot of their time in the water.”

This finding also contributes to a broader comprehension of the locomotive capabilities of large mammals, enhancing our appreciation for the diversity and complexity of animal movement in the natural world.