Are animals aware that they must hold their breath when they're submerged in water? How?
by 
anonymous
ANSWERS: 3
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Keen instincts.
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Possibly they don't need to be. All mammals have a survival reflex called the diving reflex. Nerves in the nasal cavity are sensitive to the presence of cold water and when the face becomes submerged, the heart slows down, the blood vessels around the skin contract to increase blood perfusion to the vital organs. This reduces oxygen utilisation and therefore increases the time the animal is able to remain submerged. I don't know whether part of the reflex prevents them from breathing in again, but I think instinctively it would maintain air in the lungs to increase thoracic pressure, and consequently it wouldn't breath in.
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They do so many things just out of reflex, kind of like a bird doesn't go around thinking "I've got to hold on to that branch." Actually their little feet with claws automatically curl around anything that they touch. They can't help it.
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