This Intense Summer Heat in Texas is Causing our Squirrels to ‘Sploot’

These photos of squirrels 'splooting' on sidewalks under trees in parks and near City Hall in San Antonio, Texas are breaking our hearts.

Honestly, not only is it heartbreaking to see our little fuzzy friends doing anything they can to stay cool in this intense heat, it's always making me consider 'splooting' myself.

Splooting. Hmm. That doesn't sound like a very nice word, does it? No, no it doesn't. But it's nothing uncouth. It's actually a position that allows squirrels to cool off a bit more by laying face down with their four paws placed down against a cooler surface. This enables them to lower body temp--at least a bit. I've seen my cats do it. We see dogs do it.

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A few weeks ago, Police Chief William McManus out of San Antonio, Texas posted a photo on his Twitter of a squirrel he discovered in this 'splooting' position.

At first, he was concerned the little dude has died. However, as he approached he saw it scurry off. Later he returned and found the squirrel was back in the same position!

But he certainly was the only little guy trying to keep cool in this same way. KHOU11 shared a video posted by CBS5 out of San Antonio showing DOZENS of squirrels doing the same thing. Take a look: 

These squirrels are 'splooting' in this Texas heat - YouTube

Little darlings...

And I don't know about you, but I've personally seen at least five squirrels doing this in East Texas.

Here's another quick video from My Backyard Birding's YouTube Channel that is ADORBS:

How Squirrels Keep Cool In Summer - Splooting! - YouTube

And as mentioned previously, my cats do it. My friends' dogs do it. Splooting is a great way to get more of your body on a cooler surface in a desperate attempt to stay at least a little bit cooler in this heinous Texas summer heat.

(I wonder if humans could do it? I'll let you know.)

Do you ever see your animal friends 'splooting?' We'd love to see photos! Send them to tara.holley@townsquaremedia.com.

Hey, kids are getting ready to head back to school. This may be helpful to you, parents!