Elephants love the water. Little Asian elephant Sam Houston1 at the Fort Worth Zoo is no exception. He’s already taken to the main habitat’s big pool, splashing around with mom Bluebell like a regular Michael Phelps. I see some gold medals in his future!
In truth, the zoo lets us in on Sam’s training secret: he’s had a bit of backstage practice before his first public swimming appearance. The zoo has a behind-the-scenes swimming area for their herd of elephants when not in the public habitat. It was there that little Sam learned his water techniques, with excellent swimmer Bluebell helping him perfect the skill. The zoo has promised more footage of those early lessons as they post the baby diaries, with the first adorable entry here.
In the wild, both African and Asian elephants are natural swimmers, perhaps a remnant from their ancestor Moreritherium, a prehistoric animal that spent most of it’s time in rivers and swamps. They posses strong olfactory skills that allow them to identify water sources from a great distance, and they can commit these places to their long-term memory. They are quite buoyant for such a large creature. Their large lung capacities, adapted to deal with pressure changes caused by submerging, and flexible trunks give them the ability to swim for hours. They have the capability to ford streams or rivers where they can either walk along the bottom using their trunk as a snorkel if shallow enough or float if swimming is needed. In addition to crossing bodies of water, they just enjoy splashing about. It helps keep them cool and it’s a fun recreational activity.
The source for today’s gif is here, with credit to keeper Casey.
Herd Trust: Swimming Trunks & the Elephant’s Love of the Waterhole, 10/26/21
The Fort Worth Zoo has an impressive record with elephant births, and gives all members of their herd Texas-themed names. Sam Houston was a US Senator for Texas and the state’s governor (among other things) in the mid 1800’s. I’ve put a link to the Wikipedia article above if you’d like to learn more.
When they say "Effortless performance!", it's meant as a compliment, but the time and application required for "effortless" should be remembered.
I'm glad Bluebell helped Sam prepare for his debut... I have enough trouble reading human faces, but I'm damned if both those elephants weren't looking really happy, and Bluebell maybe even proud
Water squee!!!!