Post by Odysseus on Sept 8, 2022 21:47:10 GMT
My cats have been doing this outdoors since the heat wave started about two weeks ago.
First time I've heard the term "splooting", but it will do just fine by me.
Why squirrels sploot
Splooting is a reaction to extreme heat. If you’ve got a fur coat and you’re stuck in 107-degree weather, you don’t have a lot of options to cool down. For squirrels and other furry mammals, splooting is one of them.
To sploot, squirrels stretch themselves out on the ground and remain completely motionless. Their goal is to get as much of their surface area in contact with the ground as possible. This helps to dump heat from their bodies into the environment, cooling them down. Splooting is also sometimes called “heat dumping.”
It turns out that splooting is a normal and natural behavior. Squirrels do it, and so do creatures like bears and even dogs.
Think about a time you’ve stretched out on the tile floor of your bathroom on a hot day, or put your hand on a chilly marble cutting board. Splooting squirrels are doing the same thing, but with their entire tiny bodies.
Splooting is a reaction to extreme heat. If you’ve got a fur coat and you’re stuck in 107-degree weather, you don’t have a lot of options to cool down. For squirrels and other furry mammals, splooting is one of them.
To sploot, squirrels stretch themselves out on the ground and remain completely motionless. Their goal is to get as much of their surface area in contact with the ground as possible. This helps to dump heat from their bodies into the environment, cooling them down. Splooting is also sometimes called “heat dumping.”
It turns out that splooting is a normal and natural behavior. Squirrels do it, and so do creatures like bears and even dogs.
Think about a time you’ve stretched out on the tile floor of your bathroom on a hot day, or put your hand on a chilly marble cutting board. Splooting squirrels are doing the same thing, but with their entire tiny bodies.
...
Although since the squirrels tend to ravage my avocados, I might prefer that they die of heat stroke instead. (Just kidding).