It’s So Fuckin Hot in LA Squirrels Are SPLOOTING

By Scott Willson · 2026-10-07

Squirrels across Southern California are being spotted lying flat on decks, sidewalks and tree branches as the region bakes in the heat. The move is called splooting, and it’s how squirrels dump body heat onto a cooler surface. UCLA ecologist Daniel Blumstein has said bears, rabbits and dogs do the same thing. It means the animal is hot, not sick, so experts say to leave a splooting squirrel alone.

I never knew what squirrel splooting was until right now, but I’ve been splooting all week too, and to be honest I can’t stop. It’s been over 100 in LA for the past two weeks, and I like the power grid, so I only run the AC at 66 degrees, and I’m still splooting on the floor.

For anyone else who just learned this word, splooting is when an animal lies flat on its belly with its back legs kicked out behind it, so it can press as much of itself as possible against something cool. Squirrels can barely sweat, so this is basically their version of lying face down on the kitchen tile. Corgis do it, bears do it, and apparently so do grown men in Los Angeles when the thermometer reaches triple digits.