Animals do all sorts of things, some of which may simply leave you reeling in surprise. We all know that animals eat; all living beings do, they sleep, they play, some even have an elaborate mating ritual, they play and they also get into all kinds of mischief. However we do not give much thought to the cleaning routine of animals unless they are your own pets. We all know that though cats are pets that only belong to themselves and hold themselves a little bit apart, they are quite meticulous about cleanliness and grooming. On the other hand, dogs are not that particular about cleaning themselves though they do belong to you completely and there is no doubting their loyalty and warmth.

Have you ever wondered how animals keep themselves clean when in the wild? Though animals are not quite as particular about one or two showers daily like us humans, each animal species has their own routine for cleaning themselves. Though of the cat species keep themselves clean by grooming their bodies with their tongue. Birds tend to take a dip in water and then fluff their feathers and shake themselves vigorously to get the water out of their bodies.

Hippopotamus also known as the water cows, tend to spend enough time wallowing in water and mud and this must be part of their cleaning process. When it comes to elephants, we know that they spend a lot of time playing around in water, squirting themselves and others with water. They can continue doing this for hours together. However after all this cleaning, wallowing in water and squirting of water with their trunks, elephants also like to get out of the water and squirt mud on their backs. Apparently, the squirting of the mud on their backs is in a bid to have the tiny insects and mites on their back to prevent itching and the mud also acts as sun protection to prevent their skins from getting burned.

When it comes monkeys, chimpanzees, gorillas and other primates, they tend to take care of each other’s grooming; you may come across pictures of primates sitting in front of each other and cleaning the fur and getting rid of lice. Even animals like crocodiles and alligators have other small birds on their back picking out small insects and bugs.

As you can see, all animals and birds have their own cleaning routines, one that make so much sense for them. Nature can be really surprising and you marvel at the ingenuity Mother Nature has used for devising ways in which animals and birds have effective and marvelous ways of being clean, healthy and leading complete lives.

There is much you can learn from looking at pictures of animals in the act of cleaning themselves. It would probably be a good idea to show your kids pictures of animals and birds in the process of keeping themselves clean. This could not only be an educative experience for them but also tell them that being clean and following a hygiene process on a regular basis is something that all of us should adopt from a young age on-wards to be able to enjoy good health.

A look at the pictures of animals taking care of their cleaning routine can be very enlightening. You will be astounded at how each species take care of this aspect. While this may not match up with the norms of human life, you have to remember that whatever routine an animal follows, it works for them. This is so because that is the way things were designed for them by the master designer – Mother Nature herself!