If you’ve ever wondered what jaguars look like while swimming around, you’ve come to the right place. Wildlife Rescuers shared a video of jaguar cubs practicing their swim skills at a conservation center and it’s absolutely a joy to watch!
We’ll be honest and admit that we never even thought about what they would look like, but we’re glad we found this video and got to see it because it’s so cute! The one swimming completely underwater at the end is pretty impressive to see!
@wildlife_rescuers Jaguar cubs, including the striking black jaguars often referred to as black panthers, sometimes practice swimming at conservation centers as part of their natural development. Unlike most big cats, jaguars are strong swimmers and actually enjoy the water—often hunting in rivers, swamps, and wetlands. Learning to swim not only builds their strength and coordination but also sharpens the instincts they’ll need to survive in the wild. At conservation centers, these supervised swim sessions help prepare the cubs for real-life challenges, like crossing rivers or catching prey in watery terrain. Video #1 credit goes to: @leandro_silveira_iop at @instituto_onca_pintada Feel free to explore the gallery of these pages, where you can express your support, admiration , and indulge in more amazing wildlife photography. #animals #cuteanimal #animallovers #jaguar #jaguarlover #jaguarswimming #blackjaguar #blackoanther #jaguarcub
Wildlife Rescuers shared more in the video’s caption, “Jaguar cubs, including the striking black jaguars often referred to as black panthers, sometimes practice swimming at conservation centers as part of their natural development.
Unlike most big cats, jaguars are strong swimmers and actually enjoy the water—often hunting in rivers, swamps, and wetlands. Learning to swim not only builds their strength and coordination but also sharpens the instincts they’ll need to survive in the wild. At conservation centers, these supervised swim sessions help prepare the cubs for real-life challenges, like crossing rivers or catching prey in watery terrain.”
Commenters enjoyed watching the cubs swim. @Linda C simply said, “So Adorable!!!!” @Wheels joked, “Olympics next for them!” and @birdbrain623 added, “They’re gonna win the Synchronized Swimming Championship for sure!”
Related: Baby Flamingo Splashing Around in Water Has the Internet Captivated
How Fast Can Jaguars Swim?
After watching the video, we wondered how fast jaguars can swim. According to Only Zoology, it’s very fast! “Jaguars are known to swim with a roughly estimated speed of about 2 to 5 miles per hour, or with an average speed of 3 to 8 km per hour. If you compare this speed with humans, then humans at their peak athleticism can swim at best around 6 miles per hour which is a bit more than a Jaguar.”
The same article explains, “Not only they are good swimmers, they are deep divers as well. As very often they are seen to dive deep to the bed of the water bodies like rivers, streams, and lakes either to make a dive or kill its prey.
They have very sharp focus that let them see very easily underwater without creating any physical disturbance to their eyes.
Another very interesting thing to note is that they can even eat their prey underwater if it’s a small prey like a river turtle or fish.
However, for larger preys they grab them using their powerful jaws and drag them near the bank and then to its favorite place to feast upon it.”
CGAA notes that jaguars can hold their breath underwater for up to two minutes at a time, which is also pretty impressive!