# On camels and whether other animals can't swim.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-camels-and-whether-other-animals-cant-swim/775201>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [December 20, 2016, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-camels-and-whether-other-animals-cant-swim/775201 "2016-12-20T01:01:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![waddlingeagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/4da419/32.png) [@waddlingeagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waddlingeagle)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-camels-and-whether-other-animals-cant-swim/775201/1 "2016-12-20T01:01:10Z")

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I have a few notes on Jill’s column on whether animals cannot swim.

> **[Is the camel the only animal that can’t swim?](https://www.straightdope.com/21342974/is-the-camel-the-only-animal-that-can-t-swim)**
>
> A STAFF REPORT FROM THE STRAIGHT DOPE SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD

She seems to limit the discussion to vertebrates, which seems reasonable. Who cares whether earthworms can swim?

Well, okay – I can vouch for the fact that eagles are indeed strong swimmers and they frequently swim in the course of their daily business. However, like many birds that live near and hunt on the water, they have no oil glands and their feathers can become waterlogged. But they can and do dive for food and swim to shore with it, drying themselves out afterward with their wings spread like cormorants. Eagles also bathe frequently. I have numerous photos of eagles bathing.

As for animals that cannot swim, the Scottish Terrier comes to mind. Scotties sink like stones as they have little fat and their fur quickly becomes waterlogged. Nevertheless, some Scotties will try to swim and they have to be watched when near water. A Scottie will chase a thrown object into the water, retrieve it, and walk along the bottom to shore, but that is not swimming. I do not know if similar terriers have the same problem.

The sea otter has almost no body fat. It depends on air trapped in its fur for buoyancy. A shaved sea otter cannot swim and any monster who throws a naked sea otter into the water ought to be arrested.

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**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-camels-and-whether-other-animals-cant-swim/775201/2 "2016-12-20T06:53:09Z")

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For the record, [sloths can indeed swim.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7HGSvczDA4)

(I don’t know about giant prehistoric ground sloths, however.)

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**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-camels-and-whether-other-animals-cant-swim/775201/3 "2016-12-20T09:11:27Z")

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The hippo can’t swim.

From the [San Diego Zoo](http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/hippo) website:

> [@](#):
>
> Yet despite all these adaptations for life in the water, hippos can’t swim—they can’t even float! Their bodies are far too dense to float, so they move around by pushing off from the bottom of the river or simply walking along the riverbed in a slow-motion gallop, lightly touching the bottom with their toes, which are slightly webbed, like aquatic ballet dancers.

Many other reputable sites say the same thing.

With giraffes there is some debate but most sources agree that in a pinch they probably could swim, at least for a while.