Swimming Andy's Baby Animals

# Andy's baby animals

# If you're a polar bear and you're going somewhere

# Andy's baby animals

# Or an elephant calf, then you'd better take care

# Andy's baby animals

# If you're a capuchin learning how to eat

# An ostrich chick trying to beat a retreat

# Andy's baby animals Andy's baby animals

# If you're a black bear looking for a tree to climb

# Andy's baby animals

# Or a penguin chasing Mum at breakfast time

# Andy's baby animals

# An orangutan trying to make a bed

# Or a meerkat struggling with a sleepy head

# Andy's baby animals

# Andy's baby animals

# We're growing stronger every day

# Watch and try and learn and play

# Andy's baby animals

# Andy's baby animals. #

Hello. I'm Andy.

And this is a penguin chick.

There are lots of different types of penguins.

This is called a Humboldt penguin.

Penguins are birds, but they can't fly,

but they are fantastic swimmers.

They move very easily through the water, very fast too,

to catch fast-swimming fish.

Lots of baby animals are getting ready

for their first swimming lesson.

We are off to New Zealand...

These are fur seal pups,

and they're about five months old.

One day they'll be brilliant swimmers.

But they need to practise before going in the sea!

The waves are big and scary.

So Mum makes sure her pup doesn't get swept away.

Well done, Mum.

It's too rough for a swimming lesson here...

..but luckily, this pup knows a much safer spot.

He's heading upriver,

if he can remember the way, that is.

I'm sure it was over here.

This is a big journey for such a little pup.

But if he can make it all the way to the top, it will be worth it.

And this is what he's come for...

..an open-air pool with its very own waterfall.

Brilliant! It's nice and shallow with no big waves.

So it's the perfect place for a pup to try out its swimming skills.

In you go!

It's also a good place for splashing around with your mates.

Woohoo!

Hee-hee! Watch out! Coming through!

If they want to catch fish when they're bigger,

they must practise diving underwater

and holding their breath for up to ten minutes.

But don't you try that at home,

unless you're a seal pup, of course.

Learning to swim is great fun.

There's even a diving board!

Oooops!

Hee-hee!

The pups love this pool so much,

some of them stay here for up to ten days.

And after all that swimming, they're very hungry.

Come on, you lot. Time to go home.

When they get back to the rocks,

Mum will be waiting with a nice drink of milk.

See you later, little seals.

Right. Now where did I put my swimming trunks?

Next, we're off to the top of the world, the snowy Arctic.

Some baby animals have to take their first swim

in the icy seas of the frozen North.

This is a polar bear family.

Here's Mum, and her two little cubs.

They look like trouble!

In winter, the ice is so thick here

even a big polar bear can walk on it.

But when summer arrives, everything starts to melt.

And the sea ice turns back into water.

Until now, the cubs have managed

to stay on dry land, well, dry ice, anyway.

But now the ice is breaking up.

It looks a bit nippy in there, doesn't it, guys?

Careful you don't fall in!

Oh!

Uh-oh...

..it looks like this is the end of the road.

The cubs are finally going to have to get those paws wet.

But are they brave enough to take the icy plunge?

Of course they are.

Nothing scares a polar bear.

You'd never have guessed that this was their first time.

It looks like polar bears are born to swim.

Thanks to a thick layer of fat,

they don't get too cold when they go swimming.

And they can swim a really long way.

Looks like the cubs prefer to walk, though.

At least now they've had their first swim,

in the future, the cubs will have no trouble getting around.

Good job, you two.

Now we're off to Antarctica,

from the top of the world to the bottom of the world.

More baby animals are waiting

to take their first swim in an icy cold sea.

These are Adelie penguin chicks.

They live near the South Pole, where it gets really chilly.

That's why they're covered with all those soft fluffy feathers

to keep them warm.

It's a bit like a penguin woolly jumper!

Penguins get all their food from the ocean,

so the grown-ups make regular fishing trips out to sea.

Which means if the chicks want to eat when they get older,

they need to learn to swim first.

Hang on, hang on.

First, you need to get rid of all those fluffy feathers

and grow some waterproof ones.

Like this.

Oops! Missed a bit at the top there.

Losing your last few baby feathers certainly makes

for some crazy hairstyles.

Right. Now it's time for your first swim.

But...where to start?

Don't worry. The grown-ups will show you how it's done.

Penguins might be clumsy on land,

but in the water, they're as graceful as a ballerina.

Just look at them go!

You have to swim fast if you want to catch fish.

Right, chicks, that's how you do it.

Now, who's first?

Go on, somebody's got to go first.

Is it going to be you? No pushing, now.

Oops! In he goes!

And that one!

These rocks are so slippery that there's no turning back.

The chicks have no choice but to dive in or fall in.

Be careful, now.

Usually, when swimming,

you have to learn to keep your head above the water.

But the penguin chicks have the opposite problem.

They're really good at floating,

so they actually have to learn how to sink!

But it won't be long before

these chicks are as graceful in the water as their parents.

I'm not sure they'll ever be graceful out of the water, though!

Oops!

Whey-hey!

For a fur seal, a polar bear cub, or a penguin chick,

learning how to swim takes a lot of practice.

See you next time.