A bear chills in Katmai National Park & Preserve. Bears will sometimes dig a hole to fit their belly before splooting on a warm day. Image: NPS/M. Walker
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We’re baking in the dog days of summer, so some animals are cooling off with a little ‘sploot.’ This is where they sprawl out, typically with their faces down and arms and legs sticking out at the side.
Squirrels are infamous “splooters,” particularly in areas prone to the urban heat island effect. Sunny Corrao of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation told NPR, “They’re trying to find a cool space, and if they can put as much of their core body on to a cool space, then the heat is going to transfer from their bodies to the other surface. So in the case of squirrels, you’ll often see them maybe on a shady sidewalk, or a park path, or in the grass, just splayed out.”
Desert tortoise at Joshua Tree National Park. Image: NPS / Hannah SchwalbeA yellow-bellied marmot in Grand Teton National Park. Image: NPSA squirrel sploots on a rock face in Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Image: NPS/A. MazzuccoBear 151 spreads legs at Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Image: NPS Photo/F. Jimenez Yellow-bellied marmots only spend up to two hours each day above ground. Image: NPS/Diane RenkinA grey squirrel sploots to keep cool. Image: DepositPhotos
