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Squirrels feel the heat, too.
That’s what the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation is letting the public know about the many squirrels that have been spotted sprawled out, belly-down, on city grounds.
The position is called "splooting," according to the department.
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The squirrels aren’t doing it because they’re hurt or sick.
On hot days, squirrels — a small rodent — "keep cool by splooting," according to the NYC Dept. of Parks and Recreation. (iStock)
"If you see a squirrel lying down like this, don't worry; it's just fine," NYC Parks wrote in a tweet on Tuesday, Aug. 9.
"On hot days, squirrels keep cool by splooting (stretching out) on cool surfaces to reduce body heat," the department continued.
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"It is sometimes referred to as heat dumping."
Twitter users responded to the agency’s tweet with photos and videos of squirrels splooting on picnic tables, benches and the bases of stone gates.
NYC’s average temperature the week the tweet was posted was approximately 88.9 degrees Fahrenheit.
The city’s exact squirrel population is unknown.
The NYC Parks Department issued a statement about squirrel "splooting," a position the animals sometimes take on hot days as they lie down flat. (Credit: @NYCParks /TMX)
Yet the eastern gray squirrel is the species that's most prevalent.
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A 2019 squirrel census conducted by The Explorers Club, an international field exploration and scientific inquiry organization, estimated that 2,373 squirrels lived in NYC’s iconic Central Park alone, according to National Geographic.
Squirrels have only a few sweat glands in their hands and feet, according to animal encyclopedias. Splooting, or lying down on a ground or surface, helps them cool off on hot days. (iStock)
Squirrels aren’t the only animals that practice splooting.
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The cool-down activity is done by other mammals as well, including dogs, cats, rabbits, pigs, otters and bears, to name a few.
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