The distance from Staffin Bay to Staffin Island is 275 meters, which is just under 1,000 feet. On the Island of Skye off the west coast of Scotland, there is a long-held tradition of sea-faring cattle.įrom a small croft in the village of Staffin, cattle from the croft of Ian MacDonald are driven across the sea to Staffin island.Īccording to a report in Scottish Field magazine from 2014, the swim takes around seven minutes and has become a local spectacle. In an interview with the Belfast Telegraph, National Trust Ranger Scott Scott explains that there are always a few of the herd who have made the trip before and that they take the lead and show the novice swimmers where to go. The Crom estate cows have become quite famous, with crowds turning up to watch the strange occasion. On the Crom estate in County Fermanagh in Ireland, there is a famous herd of swimming cattle.Įach year, the cows swim across the waters of Lough Earn, a small lake about 100 meters (330ft) across, to reach their summer pasture. Here are three examples of famous swimming cows or bulls. It’s one thing to say that bulls can swim, but the proof is in the pudding. Some scientists suggest that elephants’ long trunks evolved specifically to use as a sort of natural snorkel. Even if they could somehow submerge themselves, they would resurface immediately.Īlthough common cattle bulls can’t swim underwater, there is another type of bull that can: Elephant Bulls.Įlephants can swim completely submerged, using their trunks to breathe.
Cows’ large fat reserves and large lungs make them buoyant in the water. Can Bulls Swim Underwater?īulls and cows can not swim underwater. In recent history, the longest recorded swim of any modern domestic cattle bull was in North Carolina in the United States, where three cattle were swept out to sea in a storm and managed to swim the 3.5 miles (6km) from Cedar Island to the Outer Banks.
Their large weight helps keep them stable in the water, which is important for crossing rivers with strong currents. Are Bulls Good Swimmers?Ĭonsidering their size and shape, bulls are surprisingly good swimmers.Ĭows and bulls swim using their four legs to propel themselves through the water in much the same way that a dog does. This type of behavior is found in today’s roaming herd species such as buffalo, whose water crossings have been well documented. Cows who could swim could cross rivers to get to more bountiful foraging ground, and bulls who could cross rivers could get to the cows on the other side.
BOVINE SWAM TO OUTBANK HOW TO
You may think it’s pointless for a cow to even know how to swim since today’s cattle spend their lives on dry land grazing, however, this important skill is a throwback to when cows were wild herd animals roaming the plains of Europe and Asia.įor cows’ wild ancestors, being able to cross bodies of water was a massive evolutionary advantage. Thankfully, most of the time cows only swim for extremely short distances such as crossing a shallow river or pond. Although they aren’t very streamlined in the water, there have been plenty of documented cases of cows swimming several hundred feet across rivers and lakes, and even a group of cows who swam three miles over open ocean.Ī bull’s biggest risk when swimming is running out of energy and drowning before they reach dry land. They will likely be sedated and sent home on a boat, a Park spokeswoman told the Observer.Bulls and cows know how to swim instinctively. The cows were identified by their keeper, Woody Hancock. Three months had gone by since the animals, belonging to a free-range herd living on private land on Cedar Island, went missing during the storm.Ĭategory One Hurricane Dorian created a "mini-tsunami" that swept cattle and some 30 wild horses from Cedar Island into the ocean when it struck on September 6. The animals were recently discovered by park rangers at the Cape Lookout National Seashore, a long chain of undeveloped barrier islands off the North Carolina coast. The bovine trio is believed to have swum six to 10 kilometres before placing hoof on land - in this case an island of sand dunes and scattered vegetation that is part of North Carolina's Outer Banks, the Charlotte Observer newspaper reported. Three cows swept into the ocean when Hurricane Dorian struck the US east coast in September were found living on a string of sandy islands miles away from their home, US media reported Thursday.
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