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Sploot: Squirrels Heat Dump Across NYC, Parks Dept Says

Have you seen a splayed-out squirrel flat on the ground? Like you, it's trying to beat the heat.

A squirrel keeps cool by splooting in New York City.
A squirrel keeps cool by splooting in New York City. (NYC Parks Department)

NEW YORK CITY — On a hot day, New York City's squirrels sometimes just need a good sploot.

That's the message from the city's parks department in a Twitter PSA this week directed at city dwellers concerned by the sight of splayed-out squirrels.

"If you see a squirrel lying down like this, don't worry; it's just fine," the tweet states, along with a photo of a squirrel looking more pancake than a rodent.

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"On hot days, squirrels keep cool by splooting (stretching out) on cool surfaces to reduce body heat. It is sometimes referred to as heat dumping."

A squirrel beats the heat in New York City by splooting on the ground. (NYC Parks Department)

Splooting isn't a squirrels-only activity, as replies to the viral tweet noted — with photographic evidence.

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Bears, for example, "sploot like nobody's watching...," according to a National Park Service tweet.

As do cats, corgis and all manner of canines.

Even George Costanza sploots, one Twitter user indirectly argued with a photo of his infamous pose.

Everyone sploots, at least according to the Twitterverse.

But splooting, in all seriousness, is an effective and long-standing way for New York City squirrels (and others) to cool off, as detailed in a 2019 Gothamist report.

The squirrels are positioning themselves in a way, often on cool surface, that efficiently reduces their body heat, Mikel Maria Delgado, a UC Davis postdoctoral fellow told Gothamist.


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