A Swimming Rat

Today, I went to the local small lake for a walk and to watch the ducks. I noticed a small creature jump off of the shore and into the water. Well, getting closer to it, I discovered that it was a rat going for a swim. It swam for about 15 minutes into the deepest area of the lake and around some ducks. The ducks would gang up and try to surround the rat but it would dive underwater and then resurface somewhere else. I was impressed with its' swimming skills. It was almost as if this rat was playing like it was a duck or trying to get them to play. It was very interseting to watch. I never thought about a rat swimming in deep water and far off of the shore like that.