Can Lions Swim?

Known as the kings of the jungles, lions can swim surprisingly well and surpass our expectations. Not only can they keep themselves afloat, but they also have enough stamina to cover some long distances.

If you have ever wondered why lions would descend into the water, it’s time for you to join us and discover the secret behind this habit, as well as the extent of their ability.

Lions Are Good Swimmers

If you spend time observing lions and their habits, you will easily figure out that water and swimming are no problem for them. In fact, they swim in pride and cross unimaginable distances too.

A study in Washington recorded these felines paddling nearly a mile to reach an abandoned island located in Puget Sound. They then wind around Olympia and follow the coast to the sea.

Researchers are thus curious about how close these mountain lions are to an island life if they can swim that long. Surprisingly enough, lions inhabit many small islands in the area.

Many recorded studies pointed out that lions can swim more than 1 and ¼ miles at once. Male lions can even conquer more impressive distances in search of suitable territory, yet female lions have been caught crossing the Sabie River to get to their male partners.

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They Swim For A Reason

Despite being good swimmers, lions are not fond of water, just like most of the cats you might have encountered. It is not rare to hear frustrated groans from them when they take the first step into the water. Therefore, they need a good reason to overcome their discomfort.

For example, if the weather turns severe and overly hot, lions might try to cool down by soaking themselves in water. They don’t necessarily love swimming or being active underwater – they simply enjoy the coolness.

Another occasion when lions have no choice is during a hunt of the pride. Crossing a river or stream is usually a rather simple task for them to catch up with other lions.

In the aforementioned Botswana region, lions adjust to water completely because they are surrounded by oceans. They can even hunt in the water like they were born for it!

How Is Their Swimming Ability?

So we now know that lions can swim in the ocean, hence we can’t help but become a little more curious and wonder how good they are at swimming. Surely, they make swimming look easy enough, but is that all to their ability?

Distance

The most well-known records showed that lions can swim for about a mile with ease. If there are resting spots along the way, they can certainly cover longer distances than we can ever think of.

Even though lions are quite fast, strong, and athletic, humans for sure stand a chance of competing with them in distance and stamina. With training, we can swim for an hour consecutively, surpassing what most lions are capable of.

Speed

People are easily intrigued by how fast lions can swim, due to the strength and power they are known for. Unfortunately, they are not physically born to swim like their fellow feline tigers, but their speed is still beyond what humans can achieve.

Lions can swim faster than humans if you are thinking about outswimming them. Nevertheless, superb athletes might have a good chance to win this competition.

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Depth

Different lion species have different habitats, hence they might be familiar with various depths of water.

The lions near the Okavango River have an average depth of 2 – 2.5 feet. Some areas are deeper and some are more shallow, and the lions tend to avoid the dangerous spots very well.

This instinct tells us lions can swim in deep water, but they will typically stay in a spot that ensures their safety. However, lions might also risk going near crocs and hippos if there are potential females for them to mate with!

The Takeaways

Although they are not particularly fond of water, lions can swim better than we expect them to. It might be for their comfort or new territories, and they can also adjust to life near water bodies by hunting for some naive prey in the shallow water.

Have you ever seen a lion swimming? Do you think they are better at it than other feline species? Let Lion Gifts know what you think by leaving a comment below!