Top 10+ Animals That Walk Like Humans

The Evolutionary Significance of Bipedalism

Bipedalism represents one of the most significant evolutionary transitions in human history, allowing our ancestors to travel efficiently over long distances, carry food and tools, and eventually free their hands for complex manipulation. This adaptation emerged roughly 4-7 million years ago and profoundly shaped our development as a species. However, bipedal locomotion has evolved independently multiple times throughout animal evolution, serving different purposes across species. For some, it provides better visibility over tall grasses; for others, it facilitates reaching high food sources or conserves energy. While human bipedalism involves a distinctive striding gait with our legs directly under our bodies, other animals have developed variations suited to their specific ecological niches and physical structures. These diverse approaches to walking upright highlight the remarkable adaptability of life and provide valuable perspectives on our own evolutionary journey.

10. Great Apes Our Closest Bipedal Relatives

As our closest living relatives, great apes—chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans—occasionally demonstrate facultative bipedalism, meaning they can walk upright but don't do so as their primary mode of transportation. When these primates stand and walk on two legs, their movement differs noticeably from human gait. While humans have a straight posture with legs directly beneath the body, great apes maintain a bent-hip, bent-knee position with their upper bodies leaning forward. Chimpanzees typically walk bipedally for short distances, particularly when carrying objects or wading through water. Interestingly, bonobos exhibit more frequent and proficient bipedalism than other apes, with studies showing they spend about 5-12% of their ground locomotion time walking upright. Orangutans, known primarily as arboreal brachiators, demonstrate remarkable bipedal capabilities when navigating small branches high in the canopy, using their long arms for balance. These glimpses of bipedalism in our evolutionary cousins provide valuable insights into how our own upright walking might have developed.

9. Penguins Masters of the Upright Waddle

Penguins represent one of the most recognizable examples of bipedal animals, with their distinctive upright posture and characteristic waddling gait captivating human observers. Unlike most birds that balance on their toes, penguins are plantigrade walkers like humans, placing their entire foot on the ground with each step. Their bipedalism results from evolutionary adaptations for both swimming and terrestrial movement in harsh Antarctic conditions. The penguin's short legs positioned at the rear of their body create their unique gait—a side-to-side waddle that conserves energy while maintaining balance. Research published in "Nature" revealed that this seemingly inefficient waddle actually represents an energy-saving mechanism; as penguins sway, they convert potential energy into kinetic energy with each step. Emperor penguins, the largest species, have refined bipedal locomotion further with a fascinating behavior called "tobogganing," where they alternate between walking upright and sliding on their bellies to conserve energy during long treks across the ice to breeding grounds.

8. Kangaroos Bipedal Hoppers Extraordinaire

Kangaroos represent perhaps the most specialized form of bipedal locomotion in the animal kingdom, with a unique hopping gait that differentiates them from human walkers. These marsupials rely exclusively on their powerful hind legs for movement, having evolved this specialized form of bipedalism as an energy-efficient method for covering Australia's vast distances. A kangaroo's hop engages elastic energy storage in their tendons, particularly in the large Achilles tendon, allowing them to recapture up to 70% of the energy from each bound. This remarkable efficiency means that a kangaroo actually uses less energy the faster it hops, making it one of the most energy-efficient forms of animal locomotion ever studied. At speeds exceeding 25 mph (40 km/h), a red kangaroo's impressive 25-foot (8-meter) bounds showcase the pinnacle of bipedal adaptation. Their muscular tail serves as a critical counterbalance and functions as a "fifth limb" when moving slowly, forming a tripod with their front limbs while they swing their powerful hind legs forward.

7. Basilisk Lizards Walking on Water

The basilisk lizard, aptly nicknamed the "Jesus Christ lizard," performs one of the most spectacular demonstrations of bipedal locomotion in the animal kingdom by literally running across water surfaces. Native to Central and South American rainforests, these reptiles have specialized adaptations in their feet that create a unique form of bipedalism when threatened. When escaping predators, basilisks rear up on their hind legs and sprint across water at roughly 5 feet per second, supported by large fringes of skin along their toes that trap air pockets when slapped against the water's surface. This remarkable adaptation creates temporary pockets of air that prevent immediate sinking, allowing them to take up to 20 steps before losing momentum. High-speed photography reveals that each foot strikes the water with sufficient force to create a small air cavity, while their rapid stride keeps them from breaking through the water's surface tension. This specialized form of situational bipedalism demonstrates how evolutionary pressure can produce extraordinary locomotion solutions uniquely suited to specific environmental challenges.

6. Gibbons Bipedal Balancers of the Canopy

While primarily known for their spectacular brachiation (arm-swinging) through the forest canopy, gibbons demonstrate remarkable bipedal abilities when traveling on the ground or along large branches. These small apes from Southeast Asia walk with their arms raised above their heads, maintaining perfect balance while moving with surprising speed and grace. Unlike the bent posture of great apes, gibbons achieve a more upright stance similar to humans, though their leg anatomy differs significantly. Their bipedal walking style appears almost like a tightrope walker maintaining balance, with their long arms serving as counterweights. Research at the University of Liverpool has shown that gibbons' bipedal walking is remarkably efficient, consuming less energy than quadrupedal movement would require for their body structure. This adaptation allows them to traverse forest gaps where branches won't support their weight or when moving through areas of shorter vegetation. Scientists believe studying gibbon locomotion provides valuable insights into how bipedalism might have evolved in human ancestors, as it demonstrates how arboreal adaptations could potentially transition to ground-based bipedal movement.

5. Pangolins The Occasional Bipedal Walkers

Pangolins, the scaly anteaters known for their distinctive armored appearance and endangered status, demonstrate fascinating facultative bipedalism when the situation demands it. These mammals typically move quadrupedally, but when they need their front claws free for digging or carrying food, they rise onto their hind legs and use their muscular tails as a counterbalance, forming an effective tripod. The giant pangolin (Smutsia gigantea) of Africa most frequently displays this behavior, walking bipedally for short distances while keeping its front limbs and formidable claws available for foraging. Unlike human bipedalism, which evolved for energy-efficient travel over long distances, pangolin bipedalism represents a specialized adaptation for task-specific activities. Their unique gait involves small steps with their body held at approximately a 45-degree angle, supported by their thick, muscular tail. This occasional bipedalism highlights how upright walking can evolve not just for locomotion efficiency, but as a multifunctional adaptation that increases an animal's behavioral flexibility—an important reminder that evolution often produces solutions that serve multiple purposes simultaneously.

4. Hopping Birds Ground-Dwelling Bipedal Specialists

All birds are technically bipedal, but ground-dwelling species like roadrunners, ostriches, and emus have perfected specialized forms of bipedal locomotion that differ significantly from typical avian movement. The roadrunner, made famous by cartoon caricatures, can sprint at speeds up to 20 mph (32 km/h) with a distinctive gait that minimizes energy expenditure in its desert habitat. Ostriches represent the most extreme avian adaptation to bipedalism, evolving into the fastest two-legged animals on Earth, capable of sustained speeds of 45 mph (72 km/h). Their specialized leg structure includes just two toes per foot (unlike most birds' four), with one enlarged toe bearing most of their weight—an adaptation remarkably similar to the evolution of hoofed mammals, but developed independently. The ostrich's economic stride involves a combination of elastic energy storage in tendons and pendulum-like conservation of energy, making their locomotion more energetically efficient than even human walking. Australian emus, while similar to ostriches, have developed a distinctive stride adapted to their outback environment, demonstrating how bipedalism continues to evolve different specializations across avian species based on specific ecological demands.

3. Jerboa Tiny Bipedal Desert Specialists

The jerboa, a diminutive rodent native to the deserts of Asia and North Africa, demonstrates one of the most extreme adaptations to bipedal locomotion in the mammal world. These mouse-sized creatures have evolved disproportionately long hindlimbs that allow them to travel exclusively on their back legs, performing impressive leaps that can cover distances up to 10 feet (3 meters) in a single bound—equivalent to a human jumping the length of a basketball court. Their specialized form of bipedalism involves a hopping motion similar to kangaroos but adapted to desert environments, where minimizing contact with the hot sand provides a thermal advantage. Studies have shown that the jerboa's unique gait also creates unpredictable movement patterns that make them significantly harder for predators to track and capture. This bipedal adaptation represents convergent evolution with kangaroos, demonstrating how similar locomotion solutions can evolve independently in distantly related species facing similar ecological challenges. The jerboa's long tail, often featuring a distinctive tuft at the end, serves as a counterbalance and rudder during their remarkable bipedal acrobatics, allowing precision landings despite their high-speed, erratic movement pattern.

2. Bears Surprising Occasional Bipeds

Despite their bulk and quadrupedal nature, bears occasionally demonstrate surprising proficiency at walking on two legs. This behavior, while not their primary mode of transportation, occurs naturally when bears need better visibility or are investigating unfamiliar objects. American black bears, brown bears, and even polar bears can all stand and walk bipedally for short distances, with some individuals showing remarkable comfort with this gait. Their bipedalism differs from humans' in that bears maintain a more hunched posture with their front limbs partially extended, ready to return to all fours. Contrary to popular misconceptions, a bear walking on its hind legs is not necessarily aggressive or abnormal; it's typically motivated by curiosity or the practical advantage of improved sight lines. Some bears with injuries to their front paws have been documented adapting to prolonged bipedal walking as a necessity. A notable example occurred in New Jersey in 2014, when a black bear nicknamed "Pedals" gained internet fame for walking exclusively on his hind legs due to injured front paws, demonstrating both the adaptability of these animals and their latent capacity for bipedal locomotion when circumstances require it.

1. Octopuses Unconventional Bipedal Travelers

Perhaps the most surprising entry on our list, certain octopus species display a remarkable form of bipedal locomotion that challenges our understanding of how bipedalism evolved and functions. The algae octopus (Abdopus aculeatus) and the coconut octopus (Amphioctopus marginatus) have been documented walking on two arms while maintaining the appearance of floating seaweed or coconuts—a sophisticated camouflage strategy. This behavior, first documented scientifically in 2005, involves the octopus pushing off with six arms while extending two for forward movement, creating a convincing imitation of a walking plant. Unlike vertebrate bipedalism, which evolved from modifications to existing limb structures, octopus bipedalism represents a completely independent evolutionary path to two-limbed locomotion. This remarkable adaptation demonstrates cognitive flexibility as much as physical adaptation, as these invertebrates must coordinate complex limb movements while maintaining their disguise. Scientists believe this behavior evolved primarily as an anti-predator strategy, allowing these intelligent cephalopods to move across open areas while minimizing their recognizability as prey. This unique form of bipedalism highlights how incredible adaptations can evolve through entirely different evolutionary pathways toward similar functional ends.

Conclusion: The Diverse Evolutionary Paths to Bipedalism

The varied examples of bipedalism throughout the animal kingdom reveal the fascinating ways evolution can produce similar solutions through entirely different pathways. Human bipedalism emerged from our primate ancestry as an adaptation for efficient long-distance travel and tool carrying, fundamentally changing our evolutionary trajectory. In contrast, kangaroos developed their bipedal hop for rapid, energy-efficient traversal of vast Australian landscapes, while penguins adapted their upright stance to combine efficient swimming with necessary terrestrial movement in harsh polar environments. These diverse paths to walking on two limbs demonstrate convergent evolution—when similar traits develop independently in unrelated species facing comparable selective pressures. From the specialized water-running of basilisk lizards to the occasional practicality of bear bipedalism, these adaptations showcase nature's remarkable versatility in developing solutions tailored to specific ecological challenges. By understanding the multiple evolutionary routes to bipedal locomotion, we gain deeper appreciation not only of our own evolutionary history but also of the incredible adaptability that characterizes life on Earth.