A Florida woman was recently surprised to find two black bears taking a swim in her backyard pool—but not so surprised that she couldn’t whip out her iPhone and record the spectacle on video. (Also see “Longest Polar Bear Swim Recorded—426 Miles Straight.”)

These black bears are far from the only animals to have been captured on film taking a dive into the deep end. YouTube has countless videos of these animal antics—not even counting videos of pet parents attempting to bathe their cats. It does, however, raise the question: Why are so many animals going skinny-dipping in our backyard pools?

Thankfully, science can give us some answers. Although no one has specifically studied wildlife in swimming pools, researchers have