Can Flamingos Swim?
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Flamingos are wading birds. If you ever catch a glimpse of them, they’ll probably be standing in - or at least around - a body of water. These birds spend most of their time in or near water, because that’s where their food stays and nest material is made. But can flamingos swim?
Can Flamingos Swim?
Yes, flamingos can swim, and it is a very important part of their regular lives.
Flamingos prefer to wade - they have long legs for a reason. But some instances call for other methods of water travel.
Sometimes, flamingos use their webbed feet to keep them upright atop the water, as if they were floating on the surface. Other times, they engage their pedals to serve as motors to propel them through the water while they dunk their heads down to retrieve the tasty morsels hidden below.
The answer to the question I know you’re thinking is: yes, it does look funny.
Why Do Flamingos Swim?
The first and most obvious reason why flamingos swim is to access waters that are otherwise too deep for their stems to stand in. The fabulous fowl doesn’t generally go out of its way to seek out these sorts of situations, but there can be any number of reasons why it happens: a hunt for more lucrative feeding grounds, a search for safer waters, a small piece of a migration trek.
The last is less likely, though. Flamingos are not long distance swimmers. For that level of travel, flamingos are compelled to introduce their wings into the equation. Swimming is for short distances.
When Do Flamingos Learn to Swim?
It takes about 11 weeks for a freshly-minted flamingo to nail down flying. Navigating the waters is a different story.
That process occurs much faster. Flamingo chicks pick up the skill early in their lives. It only takes a few weeks for these little guys to be walking and swimming - evolutionary instincts are quite the drug.
Where Can I See Flamingos Swim?
If you’re lucky enough, you could catch sight of a flamingo or two swimming at your nearest zoo exhibit of the fabulous fowl. But many flamingo enclosures don’t have bodies of water that are deep enough for the birds to need to do anything but wade.
The caveat to this is when flamingos decide to bathe. Yes, flamingos do sometimes bathe themselves, and when they do, they intentionally dunk themselves in the water from head to toe. They do this only in shallow water, and it is a part of their routine behavior. This means you could be incredibly fortunate and witness flamingos do this at any zoo they call home. But that only tangentially counts as swimming.
To see a flamingo swim in captivity, you’re better off going somewhere with a large enough body of water for them to enjoy that they can’t wade in all of it. Even though they won’t have any nutritional or survival needs to hit those deeper waters, they have to fill their 24 hours with something to do, just like the rest of us. Flamingos will occasionally switch it up just for recreational purposes.
Your best bet is to see flamingos in the wild doing their thing. That’s easier said than done, but it is the most likely setting in which flamingos will swim.
