This planet has 326 million cubic miles of water according to the Bureau of Reclamation.
The Earth is 71% water, and through countless generations, animals have adapted well to its presence.
Although fish and amphibians call the water home for the majority of their lives, there are some mammals and reptiles that make excellent swimmers as well.
You’ll be shocked by some of the best land-dwelling swimmers that this planet has to offer!
25 Animals That Can Swim And Walk
1. Sloth
Sloths are so slow on land that their species has become synonymous with laziness and being slow.
If you really want to see the peak of a sloth’s speed, then you’ll want to put them in the water.
The sloth can swim three times as fast as they walk!
Not only are sloths three times as fast in the water, but they are also three times as strong as the average human.
All that hanging up in the trees is the ultimate pull-up workout!
Sloths must really have a thing for the “rules of three” because they also poop a third of their weight in one single bathroom break!
2. Tigers
It is not very common for house cats to like water, but their much larger, wild cousin definitely does.
Tigers love the water.
Whether they’re hunting their prey or just taking a dip to cool off, tigers can be excellent swimmers.
Their strong, muscular bodies allow them to swim at speeds of up to 18 miles per hour and distances up to nine miles!
Although they may be more closely related to cats than dogs, their preferred style of swimming happens to be the doggy paddle.
The tiger’s webbed paws are perfect pushing themselves above the water.
Tigers have been known to run their prey into the water in order to gain an advantage over them.
3. Elephants
You’d think that an elephant’s gigantic size would make it sink like a rock, but elephants have another advantage you have not thought of: their trunk.
An elephant’s trunk can act as a personal snorkel!
They also use their trunks as a way to get water into their mouths.
In a single day, an elephant will drink 50 gallons of water!
Their trunks are the multitool attached to their body, which they use for digging and eating as well.
Elephants will eat anywhere from 100 to 1,000 pounds of vegetation in a day.
One thing that an elephant can’t do is jump due to its size.
4. Pigs
Pigs love the water just as much as they love mud.
All pigs are great swimmers and will often choose a dip in clean water over mud.
Pigs are extremely buoyant creatures thanks to all the fat.
Fat isn’t as dense as water, so a pig will naturally stay afloat.
All the squealing that pigs do is excellent proof of their lung capacity, which also helps make them better swimmers.
Part of the reason that pigs love water as much as they do is that they can’t sweat and need alternative ways of lowering their body temperature.
They love water for the same reason they love mud.
5. Tapir
If you’ve ever seen a tapir, you might have thought it looked like a cross between an elephant and an anteater.
They may not look like they’re meant for the water, but their Central American origin has gotten them more than used to the water.
The average tapir weighs anywhere from about 300 pounds to 600 pounds and stands at about six to eight feet tall!
Tapirs are closely related to zebras, donkeys, and rhinoceroses.
They mostly live in rainforests and marshes where they primarily eat fruits, flowers, grass, and twigs.
Some species of tapir once lived as far north as Canada, but those species have since gone extinct.
6. Cheetah
Everyone knows that cheetahs are the best runners on the planet, with top speeds as fast as 70 miles per hour.
Cheetahs also make great swimmers, though.
Their lean bodies are lightweight and their powerful leg muscles give them a strong advantage in the water.
Unlike pigs, cheetahs do not enjoy the water and typically avoid it.
That’s something most house cats and cheetahs have in common.
Despite wild cats making terrible pets, there have been many celebrities throughout history who have owned them.
Actresses such as Greta Thyssen, Phyllis Gordon, and Josephine Baker were all known to have their own pet cheetahs.
7. Hamsters
You wouldn’t expect it, but hamsters aren’t bad swimmers.
They prefer to swim only when necessary, but they are capable of swimming.
If you have a pet hamster, you should not force it to swim.
The stress can kill them and being wet for long periods of time can make them more likely to get sick.
Getting your hamster wet can also make them more likely to get a disease called wet tail, which causes diarrhea and death.
If your hamster does go for a swim, gently dry it off and then make sure that its cage is nice and warm.
Keep a closer eye on it for at least a week and call your veterinarian if it begins to sneeze or have diarrhea.
8. Llamas
Llamas are some of the goofiest looking mammals, and you wouldn’t think that they’re ones for swimming by their appearance.
Llamas actually love the water, but they aren’t the greatest swimmers.
Llamas can’t regulate their own body heat, so they take a dip in their local watering hole to cool off.
Due to their thick fur, they are prone to getting heatstroke.
The water is a great way to help prevent it.
Llamas release their body heat from their bellies, so they prefer water that doesn’t pass their backs.
Llamas hate getting their faces wet, so you won’t see any llamas diving beneath the water’s surface.
9. Cows
Cows are excellent swimmers, and swimming is something they do frequently.
One time, three cows swam five miles across an inlet of the Atlantic.
The cows were from Cedar Island, but when Hurricane Dorian hit, the cows were swept into the ocean.
They ended up in another part of North Carolina!
Cows are better swimmers than most people.
Their strong legs help them swim for long distances regularly.
Cattle herders will often take their cows across over 300 feet of water.
To have the energy to swim, cows eat an average of 40 pounds of food per day.
What goes in must come out.
These animals can produce 60 pounds of manure a day, which equates to 10 tons of manure per year!
10. Coyotes
Coyotes will do anything to avoid people, including diving into the water!
Coyotes are capable of swimming for half a mile in a single session!
Their strong legs make them great swimmers and even better runners.
The average coyote can run up to 35 to 43 miles per hour!
Coyotes are also quite loyal to their families.
They are one species that mates for life and both parents raise the young.
They use 11 different noises to communicate, making them some of the most vocal wild animals.
Coyotes are excellent at adapting to any habitat, even the big, bustling cities.
11. Komodo Dragons
The Komodo dragon’s slow, robust body may not look quite right for the water, but these giant reptiles are excellent swimmers.
A Komodo dragon can swim up to 1,000 feet and will often swim to go from one of its native islands to another in Indonesia.
To avoid predators, they will dive underwater for a short period of time.
The islands of Rinca, Gili Montang, Gili Dasami, Flores, and Komodo were once rumored to be the homes of dragons, which is how this giant lizard got its name.
You can’t blame anyone for believing Komodo dragons are real dragons, though.
They can grow to be 10 feet long!
12. Bunnies
Hamsters aren’t the only rodents who can swim.
Rabbits are also good swimmers, but there are definitely some breeds that can swim better than others.
Wild rabbits that live in places like swamps use the water as a way to get away from one of their many predators.
Domesticated rabbit breeds, such as the English Lop or the Jersey Wooly, would make terrible swimmers.
The low-hanging ears of the English Lop would be incredibly likely to become infected due to water that could get trapped in their ears.
The thick coat of a rabbit breed like the Jersey Wooly could become too heavy for the rabbit to support its own weight.
However, domesticated rabbit breeds like the New Zealand or Californian would do much better in the water thanks to their open ears, short coats, and powerful legs.
However, the stress of a rabbit that doesn’t want to swim could kill them, and if they are not dried off properly, they can catch a cold or upper respiratory infection and die.
13. Iguana
Iguanas use more than just their arms and legs to swim.
They use their long tails as a propeller to help them swim faster.
Their tail swishes back and forth just as a snake does on the water.
To lower the amount of friction on their body while swimming, iguanas tuck their legs in.
They’re like reptilian torpedoes in the water!
After a nice dip in the cool, coastal waters, iguanas will spread themselves flat in order to absorb as much of the sun as possible.
Iguanas rely on this sunlight absorption technique to regulate their body temperature, just like other reptiles.
14. Hedgehogs
Although the famous video game character, Sonic the Hedgehog can’t swim, real hedgehogs love to swim.
Hedgehogs make excellent swimmers thanks to the buoyancy of their needles.
Although they may not be able to swim for long, they love to doggy paddle in small pools, as long as they have an easy way to get back on land.
The creator of Sonic the Hedgehog, Yuji Naka, said that he didn’t know that hedgehogs could swim.
Someone later showed him a video of a hedgehog from Germany having a pleasant and easy time swimming around, and he was so shocked.
15. Echidnas
When echidnas aren’t eating ants or other bugs, they may be taking a dip in the water.
Despite their small size, echidnas are quite fast swimmers.
Like hedgehogs, their quills give them some buoyancy.
Echidnas may decide to go for a swim if they need to groom themselves or to lower their body heat on a hot, Australian day.
Echidnas love swimming so much that the Australia Zoo has its own special swimming pool for guests to see!
Echidnas are truly peculiar creatures who are egg-laying mammals and might have the strangest anatomy you will ever hear about in an animal.
16. Kangaroos
Kangaroos may look cute and huggable, but they are the furthest thing from it.
Not only can their power legs knock the wind out of a grown man, but they are also excellent swimmers.
They are such powerful swimmers that if a predator is chasing them on land, they will lead them out into the water.
Once the kangaroo and its pursuer are in the water, the kangaroo uses its powerful forearms to dunk and drown the predator.
They’ve even been known to do it to humans if they feel threatened.
The kangaroo proves you can be cute and terrifying all at once.
17. Capybara
Capybaras are the biggest rodent and the giant cousin of the guinea pig.
Capybaras can be found swimming along the Amazon River all the time.
Capybaras use water as a quick getaway to avoid predators like wild cats, anacondas, and even eagles.
Their webbed feet make treading water easy, and their facial structure is perfect for keeping water out of their noses and eyes.
Capybaras can go underwater for five minutes at a time.
They will nap in shallow water, with only their noses peeking out on the shore.
When they aren’t in the water, many animals like to use the gentle Capybara as their own, personal chair, earning Capybaras the titles of “nature’s ottoman” and “moving chairs”.
18. Wolves
Wolves are majestic creatures who are powerful and fearsome.
About 25% of a wolf’s diet comes from the water.
Even in ice cold waters, wolves can go for up to eight miles in a single swim.
Wolves’ strong predatory drive will lead them from land to water with ease.
Wolves love to eat salmon, but they will also go after sea otters, clams, or even eat from washed-up whales.
Wolves can swim in any depth and will change their swimming style based on the depth of the water.
19. Bats
Although bats do not swim unless it is necessary, they are capable of swimming, and they’re quite good at it.
The majority of the time a bat is in the water is by accident.
Scientists once thought it was so impressive how bats could glide through the sky without bumping into each other.
However, as the video capabilities became more advanced, scientists realized that bats bump into each other constantly!
These clumsy creatures seem to be more graceful in the water than in the sky.
20. Cats
Stereotypically, cats hate water, but some cats love water.
Breeds like Ragdolls or Maine Coons love the water and are excellent swimmers.
All cats can swim, but breed plays a big role in their opinion of it.
If you are a cat owner, then you know exactly how opinionated cats can be.
You should always supervise when your pet is swimming because domestic cats don’t always have the same level of instinct as those living in the wild or strays.
21. Shrews
Shrews were the favorite rodent of President Theodore Roosevelt.
He studied these charming rodents by searching for them in the wild and even keeping many species of them in captivity.
He first noticed a shrew when he saw a flattened body with a trail of bubbles following it.
A shrew’s fur can trap water bubbles that they use for an oxygen supply when underwater.
Shrews have a hidden skill you may never have heard about.
They have glands in their mouths that release the venom and allow it to slip into the saliva that is going into the wound of its prey.
The venom doesn’t kill their prey, but rather paralyzes them.
The prey is still alive and aware during this, and shrews take their prey to their dens to eat them in peace.
22. Muskrats
Muskrats live up to their musky names.
Their webbed feet and flat tail were made for treading water.
Muskrats love the water so much that they mate underwater.
They can hold their breath underwater for 15 to 20 minutes.
Unlike most animals that can swim, they can swim forwards and backwards.
These semi-aquatic rodents are known for causing chaos with incessant burrowing, but their burrows are needed as homes for some birds.
Muskrats spend their days eating cattails, water lilies, ferns, mussels, crayfish, snails, and even frogs.
They most actively hunt at twilight, thanks to the few predators and the higher amount of prey.
23. Moose
Moose are some of the best swimmers with hooves, with top swimming speeds of six miles per hour.
Moose freely choose to spend their time in the water thanks to the aquatic vegetation that grows in their habitat.
Moose like to take dips in lakes and rivers in order to cool down during hot days.
They can also swim for more than ten miles.
Their dense fur keeps them warm in frosty waters and is incredibly buoyant.
The big chest of a moose has massive lungs, which help them swim for as long as they do.
24. Bison
Bison are extremely agile creatures with powerful legs that are great for jumping, spinning, kicking, and swimming.
The bison’s size doesn’t stop it from being a fast, dexterous beast that can run up to 35 miles per hour.
To power these mobile bodies of theirs, bison must eat grass for nine to 11 hours per day.
Bison are the largest mammal in North America, with males weighing up to 2,000 pounds and females weighing up to 1,000 pounds.
25. Tarantula
Tarantulas can not only swim, but they can sense water.
Tarantulas use receptors on their legs called hygroreceptors to avoid water deeper than a couple of inches.
It’s their hairs that keep a tarantula above water.
There are cases where tarantulas have curled into a ball instead of spreading their legs out and the spider ended up almost drowning and needed to be rescued by the researchers studying it.
They aren’t the greatest swimmers of the animal world, but they can swim six to eight centimeters per second.
Tarantulas essentially use their legs to row their bodies across the water.
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Deberias publicar mucho mas aportes como este. Muchas gracias Saludos