There is a very cool Irish version of swimming pigs in the Bahamas

Those who have spent much time in the Caribbean will know that seeing the swimming pigs turned into a viral activity for travelers to the Bahamas over the last few years.

While the original Exuma Pig Island got its name in the 1980s when local residents started moving pigs to a nearby uninhabited cay to protect their livestock from a rapidly-growing population, the delight that visiting the island brought to tourists quickly caught the attention of other business-savvy locals.

Today, there are dozens of tour operators and private charter companies shuttling tourists to parts of the archipelago where they can watch and play with pigs alongside a crystal-blue beach.

The swimming cows of Connemara in Ireland, and how to see them

In an entirely different part of the world, another animal that one does not normally associate with swimming is attracting significant traveler attention. In the Connemara region along the western Irish coastline, there is also a long-running tradition of farmers herding cows to offshore islands like the Inishkea for better grazing opportunities between the late spring and early autumn.

While the practice dates back centuries, views of cows swimming back to the mainland have caught the attention of the internet this spring and, subsequently, led to large numbers of tourists wanting to experience the moment for themselves.

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Sean Power, the managing director of the family-owned Irish Experience Tours, has been leading small-group and private tours to Wild Atlantic Way from Dublin since 2008.

Over the last few weeks, Power has seen a spike in requests from tourists looking to book a tour specifically to see swimming cows. The agricultural practice is a natural part of the landscape in this part of Ireland during specific times of the year but, due to weather and tidal patterns, is never a guaranteed sight.

Those who are particularly interested in seeing the cattle swim can, just as with whale-watching or catching the aurora borealis, get lucky on the first time or need to spend more time in the region.

“If it happens, it happens in the moment”: Slow tours of the Irish coastline offer chance to see swimming cows

“There are different styles of cows swimming; there are ones where the cows are brought from the mainland on the beach to swim a short distance to the island and sometimes you’ll see cows being on the boats jumping into the water,” Power described to TheStreet. “[Cows] are very capable swimmers, they have a large lung capacity that, combined with their body composition, creates a natural buoyancy for them to paddle steadily while keeping their heads above the water.”

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While Power has been giving some private tours in which he takes travelers to spots along the Connemara coastline where they are most likely to see the cows, they encourage travelers to embrace the trend of slow travel and book a tour through a region that is known for everything from its dramatic sea-mountain landscapes to it being a stronghold of ancient cultural practices and the Irish language, preserved in large part due to isolation and the fragmented terrain.

“These are very experienced farmers who know exactly when the conditions are suitable so that’s why it’s not something that can be called up on demand,” Power said. “If it happens, it happens in the moment.”

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