Hey, at this point, you’ve gotta do what you gotta do to beat the summer heat, even if you are a black bear.
This particular animal was seen taking a dip in Lake Cumberland, which is located in Jamestown, Kentucky. The popular lake destination was created by the Wolf Creek Dam, and acts as a reservoir as well as a popular fishing and boating spot in Central Kentucky. It also served as this bear’s swimming pool for the day.
Lake Cumberland, known as the “Houseboat Capital of the Country” for hosting the largest fleet of rental houseboats in the United States, often sees black bears around the water’s edge during June and July. The U.S. Forest Service states that these summer months are peak times for bear sightings, though I guess they didn’t specify where exactly you might see one.
This bear, who must’ve read that Lake Cumberland is considered to be one of the best lakes in the country, was treading water way out in the lake when some boaters came passing by. As the boat comes through, the video captures the bear swimming through the lake’s choppy current, with the bear even looking over towards the camera at one point as if to say:
“Hey! I’m swimmin’ here!”
Hopefully you read that in a Northeastern accent like Dustin Hoffman said “I’m walkin’ here” in Midnight Cowboy (look it up).
Once the boat passes the bear, the animal appears to reset course for the opposite side of Lake Cumberland. It still has a long ways to go across the body of water, but luckily for the bear, their species is actually pretty gifted in swimming. Bears have a high fat content in their body, as well as oily fur, which help them stay afloat.
Basically, all they have to do is “bear-paddle” with their arms and legs, and their body naturally does the rest of the work. Just like how this bear is pulling off its very own aquathlon (swimming and running race) in this video.
Take a look:
