Swimming comes easily to so many different small species of the animal kingdom. Normally, when you think of swimming, the first animals on land are usually not bears. The bear, no matter how big he is, has many different skills, but is swimming one of them? With all known facts about this large predator, can they swim?
Simply put, yes! Bears have the ability to swim, but the species, reasons, and regions all play a role in why these bears might be able to swim. You’ve probably seen videos and demonstrations of the polar bear’s tendency to swim, but other species have a knack for it too.
Bears: Can Any Species Swim?
The studies on the swimming ability of bears (apart from polar bears) are quite limited, but many other species can swim when needed.
- Polar bears can travel for miles in search of food, and their abilities allow them to be classified as marine mammals.
- black and Brown bears (also known as grizzly bears) can swim, but they don’t often go out for recreational purposes.
- koala bears can swim, but it is difficult for them to get out of the water.
- panda bearsAlthough they can swim, they don’t feel like going into the water in their natural habitat.
If all the different bear species can swim, do their cubs have the same ability? Yes. While polar bears teach their cubs to swim early, black bear cubs and grizzly bear Cubs usually do not enter the water until they weigh at least 13.6 kg.
In general, bear species generally have incredible swimming abilities, although some of them don’t find it necessary.
Bears: swimming style
As big as the bear is, the body shape is much like a dog’s giving them the ability to perform a “doggy paddle” for swimming, using all four legs. black bears, brown bears and most other species paddle with their front limbs, usually keeping their bodies afloat with this part of their body. Their hind legs, although they can paddle somewhat, are not responsible for keeping them moving.
The black bear and the brown bear are not as skilled as the polar bear. Most of their diet is on land and they don’t often have a reason to immerse themselves in the water. Using the paddle motion, they can easily get through the water temporarily, but it is quite tiring for their build.
The polar bear can dive and swim effortlessly through freezing temperatures. They need to breathe, so they use the breaks in the ice above them as ways to exit the water while hunting. The water is where they are most comfortable, so they can get after it quickly seals and even whales if they spot them.
Bears: Why should they swim at all?
The biggest reason a bear chooses to swim is to hunt. Polar bears spend most of their lives hunting on sea ice, which allows them to swim between ice caps in warmer weather. They must be able to swim great distances to get to the food they need to survive, and the cracks above them make it easy to select their next target. Swimming is a normal part of their day!
Both brown bears and black bears go into the water to hunt salmon in the spring, because of their natural migration. However, there is little swimming. The streams in which these salmon live are mostly shallow, making it easy to hunt without having to swim. Still, black bears are more likely to find areas to play in as well, according to the National Park Service.
Giant panda bears don’t really have a chance to be in the water in their natural habitat because they have nothing to hunt there. Pandas’ diet usually includes food they can get on land, and their typical environment doesn’t require them to travel distances covering rivers or streams. As good as they can swim, they don’t have many goals for it.
the cubs of grizzly bears and black bears have to wait to spend time in the water so they can build up the necessary weight. However, they are not normally involved in the salmon fishery that brings these species to the water in the first place, due to the dense populations around these areas in the spring.
Bears: Determining Physical Characteristics
The bear’s large size may make you wonder how it can spend so much time in the water. These mammals are apex predators, meaning no other animal will hunt them. Still, their size and girth are a few facts that give them a big advantage. They also have huge legs that they move through the water quite easily with their paddles.
According to US Fish and Wildlife Service biologists, the grizzly bear’s incredible body fat, along with the oiliness of their fur, help them stay afloat without the risk of drowning. The same can be said of other species, which is necessary to keep the polar bear as warm as possible when diving in icy water.
Bears: swimming speed and distance
With all these facts in mind, how much distance can a bear realistically get while swimming? The polar bear rises above the other species for the entire time it already spends in the water. When sighted, some polar bears will spend hundreds of miles between ice sheets for consecutive days, and one female has even witnessed 9 days of swimming with no more than a 2-day break.
Ultimately, the average polar bear will only swim for up to 10 hours a day, stopping to rest if necessary. The placement and span of the ice sheets determine how much further they go. Many researchers have tried to measure their speed before, and the answers are varied (at best). Polar bears can move at an average speed of 10 km/h, although their cubs are much more likely to take a break as they gain weight.
Black bears and grizzly bears are much slower because their diets do not rely on chasing prey over long distances. They swim at about the same pace as they walk, thanks to their large legs. Koalas don’t need to swim much, so little is known about their speed. However, they often have trouble getting back out of pools once they’ve sought out water sources, so koalas may not have quite the skills or stamina as other bear species.
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