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Hippos become airborne when moving quickly, study finds
“We were pleasantly surprised to see how hippos get airborne when they move quickly – it’s really impressive!” – John Hutchinson.
The research could help assess lameness in hippos.

Hippopotamuses can become airborne when moving quickly on land, a new study from the Royal Veterinary College has found.

It is the first time this phenomenon has been confirmed by scientists. Little was previously known about how they move on land, with previous studies offering limited and contradictory accounts of hippo locomotion.

The researchers studied video footage of two hippos moving in their paddock during the day at Flamingo Land Resort in Yorkshire, as well as videos of hippos from the internet. In total, the team examined 169 strides from 32 different hippos.

They found that while hippos almost exclusively trot or near-trot, they can became airborne when moving quickly, sometimes for as much as 15 per cent of the stride cycle.

The researchers hope their study could help veterinary assessments of lameness in hippos by providing a baseline for assessing whether a hippo is moving normally. The information could also help with the reconstruction of the evolutionary biomechanics of hippo lineages.

John Hutchinson, professor of evolutionary biomechanics and lead author of the study, said: “It’s hard to work with hippos as they tend to stick to the water, and very seldom are trained to be studied in zoo collections. They’re also very dangerous. That’s part of the reason why science knew little about how hippos move before our research.

“We’re thrilled to provide the first study purely focused on revealing how hippos walk and run. We were pleasantly surprised to see how hippos get airborne when they move quickly – it’s really impressive!”

Kieran Holliday, science and conservation officer at Flamingo Land Resort, added: “Understanding more about the species we work with will only help us to improve the care we can give them in the future, and the fact that this paper has uncovered possible new discoveries into hippo locomotion could have positive impacts to the wider zoo community in regards to husbandry and enclosure design.”

The study has been published in the journal PeerJ.

Image © Shutterstock

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Applications open for MMI research grants

News Story 1
 RCVS' Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) has launched round two of its veterinary mental health research grants.

Researchers have until 11.59pm on Wednesday, 28 May 2025 to apply for a grant for research which reflects MMI's 2025 focus areas.

Only one Impact Grant was awarded last year, and so this year there are two Discovery Grants and one Impact Grants available. Each Discovery Grant is worth £5,000 and the Impact Grant is worth £15,000.

For more information or to apply, email researchgrants@rcvs.org.uk to contact the MMI team.

 

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News Shorts
Wales licenses Bluetongue vaccines for voluntary use

The Welsh government has approved three Bluetongue vaccines for emergency use in Wales.

From 1 March an online general licence will become available for the vaccines' use. They will then be obtainable on prescription and can be sold by veterinary practices.

After appropriate guidance, livestock keepers will be permitted to administer the vaccines themselves. The vaccines must be prescribed by a veterinary surgeon and detailed vaccination records must be kept for five years.

The decision comes as Bluetongue virus (BTV-3) continues to spread across England. The three vaccines are already licensed for use in England.

Richard Irvine, CVO for Wales, said: "This decision to licence these vaccines was informed by our recent risk assessment indicating that Wales is now at high risk of experiencing an incursion of Bluetongue this year.

"Our primary aim is to keep Bluetongue out of Wales through biosecurity, vigilance and safe sourcing of livestock."