1 00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:07,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey 2 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:10,959 Speaker 1: Rain Stuff Lauren Vogel Bomb Here. Do you ever come 3 00:00:11,039 --> 00:00:13,600 Speaker 1: home on a hot day and just lie down on 4 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:17,920 Speaker 1: your cool kitchen floor? Does it sometimes happen that someone 5 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:21,079 Speaker 1: else then walks into the room and expresses concern for 6 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:24,960 Speaker 1: your health? Well, welcome to the life of a squirrel. 7 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:29,040 Speaker 1: In the summer, the squirrels get hot just like the 8 00:00:29,080 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 1: rest of us mammals, and when this happens, they lie 9 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:34,879 Speaker 1: flat on their bellies with their front legs stretched out 10 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:38,239 Speaker 1: before them and their back legs kicked out behind. This 11 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:41,760 Speaker 1: position has been dubbed a splut by pet enthusiasts on 12 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:44,760 Speaker 1: the Internet, and perhaps originally to describe the same behavior 13 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:49,760 Speaker 1: spluting in dogs and cats. The Collins English Dictionary contains 14 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:54,160 Speaker 1: a brief definition for splute, suggesting that it's perhaps altered 15 00:00:54,280 --> 00:01:01,000 Speaker 1: from splat. Scientists call it heat dumping. Although all mammals 16 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:04,240 Speaker 1: have sweat glands, it's actually pretty rare for mammals to 17 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:06,800 Speaker 1: use them to cool down the way that we humans do. 18 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:10,200 Speaker 1: Most mammals only have sweat glands on the soles of 19 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:13,759 Speaker 1: their feet and palms of their hands. This is intended 20 00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:18,440 Speaker 1: to help provide grip during emergency climbing or leaping. But 21 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:21,760 Speaker 1: because many mammals have much thicker coats of fur or 22 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:25,600 Speaker 1: hair than we humans do, cooling by producing all over 23 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:29,000 Speaker 1: sweat that can then evaporate wouldn't work as well as 24 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:33,679 Speaker 1: it does for us. This is why many animals like cats, dogs, birds, 25 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:39,959 Speaker 1: and lizards pant, and why some splute. But while it 26 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:42,000 Speaker 1: makes a lot of sense on a hot day to 27 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:45,399 Speaker 1: expose the maximum amount of your body surface area to 28 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:49,680 Speaker 1: a cool surface, when wildlife does it, people tend to 29 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:53,320 Speaker 1: freak out a little. The New York City Department of 30 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:57,640 Speaker 1: Parks and Recreation received enough concerned calls about splitting squirrels 31 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:00,880 Speaker 1: in the summer of two that they felt cold to 32 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:03,360 Speaker 1: tweet a photo of a squirrel belly down on the 33 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:08,000 Speaker 1: ground and all four paws outstretched like Superman, with this message, 34 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:11,359 Speaker 1: if you see a squirrel lying down like this, don't worry. 35 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:15,519 Speaker 1: It's just fine. On hot days, squirrels keep cool by splouting, 36 00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:18,960 Speaker 1: stretching out on cool surfaces to reduce body heat. It 37 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:24,160 Speaker 1: is sometimes referred to as heat dumping. Splouting can be 38 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 1: observed in many warm blooded animals when the temperature soars. 39 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 1: The only real necessity is that the surface upon which 40 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:34,520 Speaker 1: the animal is spluting be cooler than the surrounding air. 41 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:39,360 Speaker 1: You can observe everything from grizzly bears spouting on rocky beaches, 42 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:42,959 Speaker 1: to rabbits, chipmunks, and even young birds stretching out to 43 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:46,799 Speaker 1: cool off. The reason for the face down position is 44 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:50,080 Speaker 1: that most mammals and birds have less fur and feathers 45 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:53,040 Speaker 1: on their underside than on their back, which allows for 46 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:55,720 Speaker 1: the cool surface to make more contact with their skin. 47 00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:00,600 Speaker 1: Adult birds tend to stay in an alert up right position, 48 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:03,799 Speaker 1: but they will fluff out their feathers and extend their 49 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:07,600 Speaker 1: wings while crouching over a cool surface to increase air flow. 50 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:12,440 Speaker 1: It's a bit more efficient than simply moving into the shade, 51 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:15,960 Speaker 1: and definitely a lot more pleasant than what some storks 52 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 1: and vultures do to cool off, which is poop on 53 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:23,079 Speaker 1: their own legs. Being mostly liquid, the poop acts much 54 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:26,399 Speaker 1: like our sweat and helps them cool down as a evaporates. 55 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:34,240 Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article it spluting It's 56 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:36,520 Speaker 1: what all the cool squirrels are doing this summer on 57 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:39,560 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com, written by Jesslin Shields. Brain 58 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 1: Stuff is production of iHeart Radio in partnership with how 59 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com, and it's produced by Tyler Clang. 60 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:47,160 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from My Heart Radio, visit the iHeart 61 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:49,920 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 62 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:50,680 Speaker 1: favorite shows.