section_path: Behavior/Drinking
section_name: Drinking
paragraph_text: Drinking
  
  By necessity, terrestrial animals in captivity become accustomed to drinking water, but most free-roaming animals stay hydrated through the fluids and moisture in fresh food, and learn to actively seek foods with high fluid content. When conditions impel them to drink from bodies of water, the methods and motions differ greatly among species.
  
  Cats, canines, and ruminants all lower the neck and lap in water with their powerful tongues. Cats and canines lap up water with the tongue in a spoon-like shape. Canines lap water by scooping it into their mouth with a tongue which has taken the shape of a ladle. However, with cats, only the tip of their tongue (which is smooth) touches the water, and then the cat quickly pulls its tongue back into its mouth which soon closes; this results in a column of liquid being pulled into the cat's mouth, which is then secured by its mouth closing. Ruminants and most other herbivores partially submerge the tip of the mouth in order to draw in water by means of a plunging action with the tongue held straight. Cats drink at a significantly slower pace than ruminants, who face greater natural predation hazards.