Elephants can hit the ground running

What do you call an elephant moving at top speed? According to a new UK study, "running".

A team of researchers from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) in Swindon, UK, claim that an elephant can actually move to a point where all its feet is off the ground at the same time, which scientists consider to be running.

Run, Dumbo, run!
The researchers used Hollywood-style technology to conduct the study.

They attached 15 temporary markers on an elephant's joints and then had the animal move past a motion capture camera, recording at 240 frames per second.

The team then used the recorded footage, along with MRI and CT scans of the elephant, to reconstruct the rotations of the animal's joints on a computer.

A 3D model was then created to show the forces and stresses at work on the elephant's muscles, tendons, and bones.

The researchers believe that by studying an elephant's locomotion, it could help construct more accurate versions of man-made walking robots.

They claim that an elephant's leg has surprising similarities to our own, as it has roughly the same structure with a long thigh and a short foot.

The team will be traveling to Thailand and Africa shortly to conduct more studies, as they have only been testing this theory on captive elephants at UK wildlife and safari parks.

Photography: Dauger.com

Source: Discovery Channel Reports, August 22 edition