Splooting: Why do animals love this bizarre but adorable behavior?

Front paws forward, belly on the ground, and most importantly, hind legs kicked back. This is the full sploot position. And it’s very cute.

The sploot. Although the first use of the word is unknown, it has grown in popularity over the past seven years. It originated in DoggoLingo, a cute internet language for describing all things dog-related. Splooting is a canine specialty. Corgis in particular are exceptionally good at it.

Splooting raised alarm in the summer of 2022 when squirrels were observed splooting in New York City parks. After that, “splooting” was named one of the top 10 words of 2022 by the Collins English Dictionary (coincidentally?), along with “permacrisis,” which says a lot about what the post-pandemic world has been like.

So why have squirrels been splooting? To date, no scientific paper has reported the usefulness, effectiveness, or prevalence of splooting, but numerous theories exist. The prevailing theory attributes it to heat dissipation. The squirrel behavior has been observed during a heat wave, and the U.S. National Park Service refers to summer as “sploot season.” Could this be one way furry animals cool off?

ⓘ IFLScience is not responsible for content shared by external websites.

Humans lose heat primarily through sweating. When the moisture on our skin evaporates, it cools us down. We’re not the only ones in the animal kingdom to use this strategy (horses and monkeys do it too). Dogs pant. Birds do it too. It keeps them cool because internal moisture evaporates.

What if panting isn’t enough? Or too much water is lost through evaporation? Then it’s time to lie down on shady ground, a cool rock, or the kitchen floor. Some furry animals, like squirrels, have relatively little fur on their bellies. By lying down and spreading their bodies on a cool surface, they may be able to lower their body temperature.

This behavior uses the environment to regulate temperature, somewhat similar to ectothermic animals. These animals, also known as “cold-blooded,” rely primarily on sources of heat in the environment to regulate their body temperature. Think of a lizard sunbathing and then hiding in the shade on cool rocks.

Or maybe it’s just comfortable. It certainly looks very relaxing.

Further research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon.