National Geographic photographer Steve Winter has spent most of his adult life shooting wild cats. Photo: A 14-month-old cub, cooling off in a pond, is riveted by a deer that appeared near the shore. Tigers are powerful swimmers; they can easily cross rivers four to five miles wide and have been known to swim distances of up to 18 miles. (Photo by Steve Winter/National Geographic)

A winter swimming enthusiast dives into a partly frozen lake in a partly frozen lake in Shenyang, in northeastern China's Liaoning province on January 25, 2022. (Photo by AFP Photo/China Stringer Network)

Patients from Rady Children's Hospital hug a bottlenose dolphin after being invited to swim and interact with dolphins at Sea World in San Diego, California August 27, 2015. Sea World has hosted Dolphin Interaction Program for seven years. It was started by dolphin trainer Joy Soto who battled and overcame non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. (Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters)

Two children swim on the flood water after a widespread flash flood at Nalitabari sub district in Sherpur district, Bangladesh, 08 October 2024. According to Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) officials, at least 50,000 people remain stranded in five sub districts in Sherpur despite flood conditions improving. (Photo by EPA/EFE/Stringer)

Snorkelers interact with a Florida Manatee inside of the Three Sisters Springs in Crystal River, Florida January 15, 2015. On winter days, Florida manatees flock by the hundreds to the balmy waters of Three Sisters Springs, drawing crowds of snorkelers and kayakers to the U.S. sanctuary, where people may swim with the endangered species. But as tolerant as the gentle, whiskered sea giants can be of the accidental kicks and splashes of delighted tourists, wild life regulators want to ban most canoes and paddle boards and create people-free zones to protect the wintering “sea cow”. Proposed limitations for this winter are awaiting approval by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (Photo by Scott Audette/Reuters)

A Capybara bathes in the hot spring water at the Saitama Children's zoo in Higashi Matsuyama city, Saitama prefecture on December 21, 2014. Seven capybaras in the zoo, originally from South America, enjoyed the hot spring water on the chilly winter day in Japan. (Photo by Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP Photo)

A woman eats an ice cream as people sunbathe on the beach in Barcelona, Spain, Friday, January 26, 2024. Spain's weather agency says recent abnormally high temperatures for this time of year are set to continue in many parts of Spain on Friday and over the weekend, with an almost summer-like feeling in many coastal areas as people take to the beaches to sunbathe and some to have a winter swim. (Photo by Emilio Morenatti/AP Photo)

Children enjoy a sledge ride past ice swimming fans at the Zalew Zegrzynski lake in Nieporet, Poland, Sunday, February 25, 2018. A cold wave hit Poland with the temperature minus 8 degree Celsius (17.6 Fahrenheit) during the day and dropping to minus 16 degree Celsius (3.2 Fahrenheit) in the night in central Poland. (Photo by Alik Keplicz/AP Photo)