Ways animals cool themselves off

Humans sweat to keep cool—this is how our bodies regulate temperature. But how about animals? Well, the vast majority do not sweat, so they have other mechanisms and strategies to cool themselves off.

In this gallery, you'll get to know how animals stay cool in hot temperatures. Click on.

Panting

We’ve all seen dogs panting with their mouths open in the heat. They expel hot air while taking in cool air. This is a type of evaporative cooling.

Dogs are not the only animals that use panting to cool down. Some birds are known to do so as well, including chickens.

Gular fluttering

Birds also use a cooling method known as gular fluttering. They vibrate the throat muscles and bones.

Sweating

Yes, humans aren't the only ones who sweat. Other animals do it too, including horses. When they sweat, horses release a protein called latherin that helps them cool off.

Wallowing

Nothing like a nice mud bath to cool down when temperatures rise, right? Many animals certainly do this, including pigs, hippos, rhinos, and buffalo, to name a few.

Salivation

As mentioned previously, cats use their saliva to groom themselves and cool themselves off, but kangaroos do it too. They lick their forearms and spread saliva all over themselves.

Ears

One example includes elephants flapping their ears. They also splash water on themselves to maximize the cooling effect.

Skin

Giraffes are known for their beautiful patterned skin, which also happens to feature very effective “thermal windows.” Blood is directed to the vessels at the edges of the spots, allowing for heat to get out of their bodies.

How do thorny devils survive the Australian desert heat? They use the tiny grooves on their skin to soak up moisture.

Peeing

Turkey vultures pee on their own legs to cool themselves off. The process of urinating and defecating for the purpose of cooling down is called urohidrosis.

Tree-hugging

Koalas like to hang on to trees to cool down. This is because bark is cooler than the air temperature.

Estivation

Other animals that do this include earthworms and frogs. The African bullfrog, for example, burrows in the ground during the hot, dry period.

Splooting

Splooting, also known as frogging or pancaking, is a position adopted by some animals to cool down. Squirrels, for instance, do this to cope with summer temperatures.