Ability to swim
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Swimming is the ability to move through water's surface while partially (or, arguably, totally) submerged in it and due to this summersion, in a lax sense the ability to mantain oneself afloat can be included in the definition. Swimming is an activity that is useful and recreational for many animal species. It occurs for bathing, fishing, travelling, cooling, and avoiding enemies. An individual's ability to swim can be judged by speed, or duration before drowning.
Humans often learn to swim in formal swimming lessons. To stay afloat in water, very little action is needed; the human body is slightly more dense than the water. Human swimming involves the use of all four limbs differently from the way they are used during walking. Those with lower body fat, and a high center of gravity, have a tougher time staying afloat. The most efficient swimming techniques involve submerging the nose and mouth in water, posing challenges for swimming and breathing simultaneously. People generally cannot swim comfortably without experience or practice, and have on many occasions drowned, often due to panic. Children generally do not swim independently until 4 years of age.[3] Drowning is the 2nd leading cause of death among Canadian children 1-4 years old.[4]
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[edit] Other animals
As a general rule, animals with lungs have an easier time floating than those without.[5]. Almost all mammals can swim by instinct. Bats, kangaroos, moles and sloths can swim, despite their rather strange shape. Few exceptions include apes and possibly giraffes. Land birds can swim or float for at least some time. Ostriches, cassowaries and tortoises can swim.
[edit] Apes
Gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans and at least some gibbons are one of few mammals which lack instinctive ability to swim, although they can wade upright in water. There are reports that siamang can swim. There are numerous reports of apes in zoos falling and drowning in water moats without any attempts to struggle. In contrast, many monkeys can naturally swim and some, like proboscis monkey and crab-eating macaque swim regularly.
[edit] Camels
Although there is speculation to the contrary, a number of eyewitnesses have confirmed that camels, including Dromedaries and Bactrians, can indeed swim. There is not much deep water in their natural habitats, so swimming is very unnatural.
[edit] Horses
Horses can swim and are in actuality very powerful swimmers.
[edit] Dogs
The method of swimming used by dogs is known as the dog paddle. Some breeds of dog swim recreationally. Umbra, a world record holding dog can swim 4 miles in 73 minutes, placing her in the top 25% in human long-distance swimming competitions.[7]
[edit] Cats
Although housecats generally do not like water, they can swim very well when necessary. The Turkish Van from Lake Van near Mount Ararat in Turkey have a naturally waterproof coat and are active swimmers. [8] Two big cats, the tiger and the jaguar, swim very well, even enthusiastically. The jaguar, in particular, spends large amounts of time in the water, with fish and aquatic turtles forming a large part of their diet.
[edit] Rabbits
Given proper motivation, both domestic and wild rabbits can swim. Domestic rabbits are sometimes trained to swim as a circus attraction. A wild rabbit is known to have attacked even a United States President via swimming on at least one occasion, when the animal was threatened in its natural habitat. [9]
[edit] Elephants
Elephants can swim quite well. Although they float, they become almost completely submerged and use their trunks like snorkels.
They have been observed swimming to islands off the coast of India, and it has been proposed that they were able to swim from India to Sri Lanka before the island was inhabited by humans. Loggers who use elephants in Southeast Asian countries like Thailand will have their elephants swim from island to island.
Baby elephants, especially, love to swim. [10]
[edit] Snakes
Many species of snakes are aquatic and live their entire lives in the water, but all known terrestrial snakes are excellent swimmers as well.[citation needed] Large snakes such as pythons and anacondas spend the large majority of their time in the water; their skeletons are not able to support their body weight well on dry land.
[edit] Mice
Mice can swim quite well, despite not naturally having to. They do panic when placed in water, but many lab mice are used in the Morris water maze, a test to measure learning. When mice swim, they use their tails like flagella and kick with their legs.
