The video discusses the ability of various mammals to swim, including hyenas, bats, giant anteaters, pigs, horses, moose, sloths, and even camels. The narrator highlights that almost all mammals can swim, thanks to a built-in feature called the mammalian diving reflex, which allows them to conserve oxygen and prioritize blood flow to the heart and brain. The video also talks about the unique swimming abilities of elephants and camels, and the surprising fact that hippos, despite being related to whales and dolphins, are unable to swim. Instead, hippos walk underwater, using their dense bones and lightweight bone material to achieve neutral buoyancy. The narrator concludes that hippos are "great swimmers" despite being physically incapable of swimming, and that they "fail successfully" at swimming due to their unique physiology.
1. A hyena, a bat, and a giant anteater can all swim.
2. Giant anteaters are waterproof and have been seen crossing rivers.
3. Hyenas have been seen holding their breath and diving to feed on a carcass at the bottom of watering holes.
4. Bats can swim across small bodies of water.
5. Almost any mammal can swim, including pigs, horses, and moose.
6. Moose can dive 20 feet to feed on aquatic plants and swim through inlets or between islands.
7. Sloths can swim and move three times faster in water than on land.
8. Sloths can slow their heart rate and hold their breath for up to 40 minutes.
9. Most mammals have a special feature known as a mammalian diving reflex.
10. The mammalian diving reflex is a built-in feature that lets mammals maximize their time underwater by prioritizing oxygen to the heart and brain.
11. The body achieves this by lowering the heart rate and constricting blood vessels in the extremities.
12. Elephants can swim and have a special connective tissue in their chest that protects their lungs from water pressure.
13. Elephants can swim for hours and cover several miles.
14. Camels can swim and have been spotted miles from land in the ocean.
15. Camels have a built-in life jacket in the form of fat in their humps that helps keep them afloat.
16. Giraffes can swim but are not very good at it and have been known to drown.
17. Asian rhinos are strong swimmers, but their African cousins struggle in deep water.
18. Gray apes can naturally swim, but their low body fat means they sink in deep waters almost instantly.
19. Monkeys can swim and have been known to swim from islands to the mainland.
20. Hippos spend 16 hours a day in water, are born and give birth in water, and can even fall asleep underwater.
21. Despite this, hippos cannot actually swim and instead walk underwater using their dense osteochlorotic bones.
22. Hippos have neutral buoyancy in water due to their heavy bones and lighter bone material in their bone cavities.
23. Hippos can surface to breathe without expending extra energy due to their unique bone structure.