A video of elephants swimming across the Periyar River in Kerala has gone viral on social media. The clip shows two mammoths swimming with most part of their body immersed in the flowing water. As the video went viral, social media users expressed awe and excitement on seeing the big animals swimming effortlessly.

Indian Forest service officer Parveen Kaswan tweeted the video saying, "For a better #morning. An #Elephant family happily swimming across the #Periyar river. In spite of their heavy body #Elephants are excellent swimmers, gives them enough buoyancy. They can swim for hours while using their trunks for snorkelling." It seems like other mammals, elephants are very good swimmers. Using their all four legs, they swim quite fast with their body providing enough floatation as the trunk acts like a snorkel. Baby Elephant Nudging Man to Play With It Will Hit You Right in The Feels (Watch Video)

Watch the video below:

Kerala is known for its large elephant population. The animal is a part of the state's culture and is often used for religious ceremonies in temples and churches. The elephant is referred to as the State Animal and is also featured on Government of Kerala's emblem.

As the video was shared widely on social media, comments exclaiming the sight began to flood. The video has gone viral with over 22,000 views and 2,300 likes on Twitter. People also tweeted pictures of swimming elephants they witnessed. One of the comments read, "Nicely taken, and the mountains in the background make it more beautiful." Another comment reads, "Such a gentle, beautiful creature!"

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 25, 2019 02:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).