New Yorkers on the Lookout for 'Splooting' Squirrels Amidst High Temperatures

The Parks Department says the squirrels are just trying to cool down.

If you see a Central Park squirrel laying completely flat on the ground with its legs sprawled out, don't worry. The animal is just doing its best to "be cool."

As the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation reassured New Yorkers in a tweet that has since gone viral, on hot days squirrels keep cool by splooting, which is a term that indicates the stretched-out pose they assume. It's a safe practice, and it helps them cool down when temperatures rise.

If that reminds you of your dog during the summer months, you are correct. Splooting is a common practice for many mammals. On hot days, they like to lie on their stomach because they have less fur on their bellies, Dan Blumstein, an ecology and evolutionary biology professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, told AccuWeather.

This summer, with many heatwave alerts and temperatures rising over 100 degrees in NYC, humans weren't the only ones suffering the consequences of the heat. Central Park, a common squirrel hangout area, recorded above-average temperatures multiple times over the summer, and it even reached 100 degrees on August 9, AccuWeather reports.

While the term "splooting" isn't universally employed yet, experts outside of the US are also familiar with the position, and agree on its non-harmful implications. In the UK, for example, the phenomenon is referred to as "pancaking," squirrel expert Natalia Doran told The Washington Post. "But we’re speaking about the same body position. We see it all the time in our rescue squirrels."

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Serena Tara is a Staff Writer on the News team at Thrillist. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.