Porpoising is a type of swimming technique used by several different underwater mammals, including dolphins, porpoises, and whales. The method involves advancing while swimming with a rising and falling motion, and it’s something you’ve undoubtedly witnessed if you’ve ever observed wild marine mammals in their natural habitat before.
It’s somewhat unusual for land mammals to partake in this sort of swimming behavior, and for that reason, this video of polar bear cubs practicing their porpoising technique is rather captivating, to say the least.
It remains to be seen why the polar bears were swimming in this manner, but perhaps it’s a means of entertaining themselves when there’s nothing to hunt.
Related: Is this polar bear conservation plan the last chance we have to save the species?