Homeowners go to great lengths to ensure that animals don’t get in the pool. When animals get into your swimming pool, havoc can ensue. Installing a pool fence or wall around your backyard is no guarantee that wildlife won’t pay a visit. Let’s face it, your swimming pool is a natural watering hole for all sorts of wildlife. Animals may be prone to want to visit your pool when you’re not around.

Statistically speaking, the most common animals you’ll find in your swimming pool are creatures like frogs, snakes, raccoons, squirrels, and birds. However, there are plenty of other larger wildlife that are eager to make use of your swimming pool as well.

Bears Are Naturally Drawn To Swimming Pools

Making it a habitable environment for creatures to visit is never a good idea. Keeping snacks about and your pool cover open when you’re not home is practically an engraved invitation for animals to want to visit your pool.

Finding a bear in your backyard is a very realistic proposition for homeowners that live up in bear country. Leaving food items unattended, and an oasis, like a swimming pool is very inviting for bears. If you do happen to live in area where bears are prevalent, take precautions. Spraying animal repellant, bringing food indoors, using an automatic pool cover and automatic sprinkler system are both great ways to keep bears away.

Bambi & His Abormal Love For Pools

Deer are another form of wildlife that are naturally drawn to swimming pools. The fact that they can easily jump over a fence means that they are not an effective deterrent for these animals. During hot summer months, deer may be drawn to your swimming pool, thinking it is a watering hole.

While they may be beautiful to look at, deer aren’t very good swimmers. You’re just as likely to find one on the bottom of your pool as you are to hear one frolicking about in the shallow end. A smart way to deter deer from entering your backyard is to use deer deterrent spray. The animals find the scent repulsive and will definitely give your swimming pool a wide berth.

Cougars & Mountain Lions

Another animal that may naturally be drawn to your pool are cougars and mountain lions. In rural parts of the country, these creatures may come down from the hills to want to use your swimming pool as their own personal watering hole. The typical animal repellants we’ve recommended should keep a mountain lion from wanting to make your swimming pool, their swimming pool

Homeowners that live in places like California, Oregon, and Colorado have the highest populations of mountain lions in the country. While certainly not as likely as finding a bear or deer in your pool, you could quite likely come across one of these animals if you live in a state known for high populations of mountain lions.

Alligators In The Pool

Finding an alligator in your swimming pool may sound far-fetched, but not if you live in Florida. The sunshine state is known for a prolific amount of alligators. Over 1.3 million alligators live in Florida right along side homeowners with luxurious pools.

While by no means a common occurrence, at least a few times each year, a local down in Florida or elsewhere along the Gulf Coast, will report finding an alligator swimming around in their pool. One story that recently comes to mind are the homeowners in Florida who came outside one evening to find a 9-foot gator doing laps in their pool.

Pigs In The Pool

Okay, this one isn’t very likely to happen unless you happen to live in a place known for wild pigs. It has been known to happen though. Some homeowners who live in areas known for wild boars or feral pigs have woken up to the surprise squealing of a pig in their pool.

Pigs are actually pretty terrific swimmers. The famous Swimming Pigs in the Exumas are a testament to how these animals love swimming. Consequently, they are naturally drawn to pools.

Hippos In The Pool – Hey… It Could Happen.

While certainly uncommon, one homeowner in Botswana woke up to find a hippopotamus using his inground pool. Okay, we’ve got nothing here. If you live in an area of the world prone to hippo invasions, you’re on your own.

After the hippo was through using the pool as his own personal oasis, the homeowner had their hands full removing over 100 pounds of hippo dung from the bottom of his pool. That’s definitely not a job any pool service guy in the United States wants to try and tackle.

Sharks In The Pool

Finally, there are the sharks in the pool. What, wait a minute… yeah, we’re just kidding about that last one. Thankfully ‘Jaws’ is the last animal on earth you’ll find hanging out in the deep end of your pool. While some sharks have been known to leap out of the water in pursuit of prey, the odds of one hopping into your pool are nil. Still, there are a fair amount of people who have some abnormal fear about sharks in the pool. There’s actually a clinic name for this weird fear called Galeophobia.

Then There’s The People Who Actually Want Animals In Their Pool

Some people like YouTubers Dudeson and Jake Paul actually went to great lengths to get animals in their swimming pool. The video below shows them swimming with not one but two 10 foot snakes in the pool.

Just swam in a pool of snakes

— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) January 24, 2017

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