Maybe next time, pigs will fly! Who knows?
A recent study from the University of London’s Royal Veterinary College has revealed a surprising fact about hippos: when they run at full speed, they can lift all four of their feet off the ground for a brief moment. This doesn’t mean they can fly like birds but it does show that they achieve a kind of “flight” when they move quickly.
The common hippopotamus, or a Nile hippo, is a large and semi aquatic mammal found in sub-Saharan Africa. Hippos are some of the biggest land animals with males weighing about 1500kg (3,300 pounds) and females around 1300 kg (2866 pounds). Despite their size, they can run up to 30 km/hr (18.6 mph) For comparison, the average human runs at about 13 km/hr.
How Do Hippos Achieve Flight?
Hippos have strong leg muscles that give them power to push off the ground with force. When running fast, hippos use a gait where diagonal legs move together. This means the right front leg and left back leg move at the same time, followed by the left front leg and right back leg. This movement helps them stay balanced and create enough lift to get all four feet off the ground.
So while hippos don’t fly like birds, they do have a way of getting airborne for brief moments when they run fast. This helps explain how these heavy animals can move quickly.
