Lion Cub Hates Swimming

Who said I wanted to learn how to swim? Lion cub is less than impressed after dip in zoo moat

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 5:08 PM on 27th October 2010

They say elephants never forget, but what about grumpy lion cubs forced to do something they hate?
Let's hope this little growler doesn't remember who decided to find out if he could swim, when he grows up.
The eight-week-old cub didn't appear to be very pleased at all when he was 'thrown in the deep end' in a zoo's moat in Washington DC.

Wet and wild: The unhappy lion cub tries out swimming in the moat at the zoo in Washington DC

Making a splash: The lion cub does not appear to be best pleased to find itself having to doggy paddle

Water torture: The reluctant lion cub finally gets into the swim of things at the zoo

And he he didn't seem to appreciate being grabbed by scruff of his neck either as he was gently put in the water.
Cats, big or small hate the wet stuff, but the staff at the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo were just being very considerate.
Zookeeper Craig Saffoe and his colleague Leigh Pitsko had to conduct swimming tests on four of the lion cubs to make sure they could negotiate the moat.
The cats went in one at a time and the reaction was exactly the same - that's grrrruesome!
The moat surrounds the lion habitat, so once that hurdle is cleared, the cubs will then be allowed to join their mother and go on display to the public later this year.

Water torture: The lion cub touches water for the first time and isn't impressed at all

In you go:  Zookeeper Craig Saffoe pus the cub into the moat at the Smithsonian Institute's zoo and then he's joined by  colleague Leigh Pitsko as they take the  bedraggled cub off to be dried after its unexpected swim