Yes, sheep do swim, said Edward Spevak, assistant curator of mammals at the Bronx Zoo. “It’s basically instinctive, a life-saving device,” he said. They don’t go swimming every day, but in case of flooding, or falling into a river, in essence they know how to swim. Sheep have never been known as big swimmers, and mose of the habitat where they evolved does not have a lot of water resources, but swimming is part of their repertoire of skills, he said. First of all, like many animals, they float, Spevak explained, “Then, in struggling to keep the head above water and to keep breathing, the method they use is basically fast walking, which constitutes a kind of dog paddle,” he said.
Other large mammals are swimmers, too. Spevak said. Cattle can swim when herded across a river, as Western movie fans know. Deer can swim, as well, “The moose, the largest deer in the world, actually feeds in water and is a very good swimmer.” Spevak said.