Hippos can become airborne at high speed, full trot: Study

(NewsNation) — For the first time, researchers found that hippopotamuses lift all four limbs off the ground when moving at high speeds over land, according to a new study.

Researchers at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) in the United Kingdom discovered this after analyzing video footage of hippos at Flamingo Land, a theme park in North Yorkshire, England. They studied 169 strides from 46 trials involving 32 hippos and found that the fastest-moving animals spend about 15% of each stride off the ground.

Hippos tend to move fast when motivated, such as chasing rivals or being chased by predators like lions or rhinos, per the study.

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