Sometimes in the middle of a still, hot summer night we know that there are several questions that run through your mind as you move your restless head across the pillow. Questions like: Did I lock all the doors? If the moon were made of cheese, how much could I eat? Why are there orange-flavored drinks when you can just drink orange juice? If my dog could talk, what would she say? Can cows swim?
Now that is the kind of question worthy of pondering in the early hours of the morning. As cows, we can expertly answer your questions concerning cattle. The short answer is “yes, cows can swim”. Upon first glance, you may think a big, heavy lumbering cow is not capable of swimming. An in depth investigation of a cow’s ability to swim would reveal that cows are actually quite adept at swimming.
However, cows are good swimmers and particularly enjoy swimming in the moonlight. Cows have been recorded swimming many kilometers during a flood. Cows most commonly swim to cross a body of water to get to better grazing conditions. Cattle can easily be herded and coerced to swim in a large group following each other. In the Scottish Highlands cows used to regularly swim across the sea to small islands for winter grazing. In Africa at the Lake Chad Basin a certain type of Kuri cattle have spent so much time in water, they developed bulbous horns which naturally help to keep their heads tilted back and nostrils out of the water. In Mail a ritual cattle crossing over the Niger River at Diafarabe is extremely important to the culture of the Fulani people and their social calendar for matchmaking! Injured cows can even be moved and helped to be rehabilitated with the aid of aquatic cow tanks. It would be safe to say that cows can comfortably spend some time in the water.
Since we enjoy hanging out in the water so much, we are seriously considering attending the Dive-In Movie Series. What could be more fun than relaxing in the pool while watching a great family film! Madagascar 3 will be playing this weekend and we wouldn’t dream of missing any movie with animal stars, animated or not. This Saturday you can catch a showing of Madagascar 3 in the Cranebrook Pool. Next month the Dive-In Movie Series wraps up at the Rob Fleming Aquatic Center with the movie Escape from Planet Earth on Saturday, August 3. The cost for each film is only $5 and children under three get in free. Pools will open at 8PM and the movies will start at 8:30PM. Arrive early so you and your floaty can get a good spot, but don’t expect assigned seats or to stay stationary, as you will float along in the water. Watching a movie from the pool’s edge on a lawn chair wrapped in a towel wouldn’t be a bad way to watch the movie either. Concessions will be sold during the movie. For more information: http://www.thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov/index.aspx?NID=310