Animals Splashing into Summer Fun

Summer is here in the Northern Hemisphere and we elephants love playing in the water and swimming! Lots of other kinds of animals do too. You may not realize it, but we can be quite nimble in the water! Because our bodies are so big, we have enough buoyancy to stay at the water’s surface and use our powerful legs to paddle. We sometimes utilize our trunks like a snorkel to breathe in deep water. So many dogs love to have fun with water! Cute canines are crazy about water slides. Did you know that some dogs surf? They enjoy riding the waves and exhibit great balance. Generally, cats are believed to strongly dislike water, but some breeds such as the Bengal cat, Maine Coon, Turkish Angora, Japanese Bobtail, American Bobtail, Manx, Norwegian Forest Cat, American Shorthair, and Turkish Van love to get wet. Actually, pigs are superb swimmers! Pig Beach, also known as Big Major Cay, is an uninhabited island located in Exuma, the Bahamas, where 20 pigs and piglets live, surrounded by the jade-colored ocean. The pigs are very sociable, and many tourists visit this unique island and swim with them. Our next water-loving friends are the sloths, which reside in the lush and tall trees of South and Central America. Considered one of the world's slowest mammals, they are clumsy walking on the ground due to their long claws, which are around 8-10 centimeters in length. Amazingly, sloths can slow their heart to one-third of its normal rate to hold their breath underwater for an astounding 40 minutes. Also from South America is the capybara, regarded as the largest living rodent in the world. They are semi-aquatic, which means that while they live on land, they spend a lot of time in the water. These friendly beings get along extremely well with other animal species. Most cockatoos and other kinds of parrots love to have a shower. The water will hydrate their feathers, soften dust and dirt, and keep their skin healthy. When possible, Supreme Master Ching Hai loves to spend time with Her adorable, adopted birds. Here is some footage recorded when She was with them in Florida, USA. The birds happily got sprayed to cool off!