Why are squirrels ‘splooting’ this summer, and should we be alarmed?
Most pet owners are familiar with a common scene during the scorching days of summer: An overheated pet comes inside the house after gleefully playing outdoors in the heat and immediately sprawls out on the cool floor – legs and arms stretched out like their own face-down version of the Vitruvian Man.
Well, there’s a word for it.
It’s called splooting and you may have witnessed it with your pets, but all sorts of animals do it when they’re overheated, even squirrels.
With temperatures soaring into the triple digits in some places, people have noticed that squirrels have slowed their usual hummingbird pace to sploot on the ground outside, Texas news station KXAN reported.
One Reddit thread was even dedicated to asking why the usually timid mammal will sploot in front of humans.
“I was sitting on the steps and this one particular squirrel would run up then stand on its back legs looking at me until I tossed it a hazelnut. It would run off, bury it, return, repeat,” wrote Reddit user RazzBeryllium. “Maybe the third or fourth time I look up and it’s laying full sploot on the ground looking at me. No noises or chatters; just sploot. I laughed and tossed it an almond and off it went.”
After saying that it happened a couple times in one day, the user asked for any ideas of what was going on.
“Squirrels sploot to bring down their internal temperature. Cooling their tummy on a cool surface does that,” one user answered.
And it turns out, that’s exactly what they’re doing.
“It’s super hot here in Texas right now, obviously, and those squirrels are basically just trying to cool themselves,” said Jill Calcote of Moonshine Wildlife Rehabilitation in Cedar Park, explaining why squirrels sploot and why it’s nothing to worry about, according to KXAN.
“I think of my child not feeling well on the bathroom floor — they spread out on the tiles. That’s exactly what the squirrels are doing.”
The term “splooting” is also known as “pancaking,” according to a Facebook post last summer by The University of Texas at Austin. “It’s their best way to stay cool in the Texas heat since they cannot sweat or pant.”
There are things humans can do to help out the little guys.
Squirrels consume a lot of water during warm weather, according to Kent Nutrition Group, so it’s crucial that they have a clean source of water. It’s OK for people to leave out water for them.
“Some squirrel feeders come with an attachments for fresh water, or you can purchase a product that is specifically designed to provide them with fresh water,” the animal-nutrition group says.
This story was originally published August 20, 2020 at 2:23 PM with the headline "Why are squirrels ‘splooting’ this summer, and should we be alarmed?."