Which animal sweats to cool off

Instead, dogs pant to circulate fresh air through their body. In summer, bears shed their thick winter coat for lighter and longer hair, which shields their skin from the sun.

The rescued bears at our partner sanctuary in Romania love to spend the summer by the pond. The best way for them to beat the heat is to stay away from the sunshine, so they find shade under rocks or luscious forest canopy. Pigs need to bathe to stay cool, since they actually have very few sweat glands!

Plus, the mud acts as a sunscreen and protects their skin. When a kangaroo needs to cool down, they lick their lick their forearms until the fur is soaking wet. As their saliva evaporates, it quickly cools down their body temperatures through the evaporation of their saliva. Sometimes it takes months, sometimes years. The bullfrog uses its hind legs to dig an underground chamber, then sheds several layers of skin to create a hard cocoon. The cocoon is especially important as it locks in the moisture to prevent the frog from drying up.

During this time, the frog goes into a hibernation state called estivation , which is triggered by excessive heat, or drought. So how do they keep cool? The answer lies in their beautifully patterned skin, which acts like a network of thermal windows. Giraffes can direct their warmer blood to the vessels at the edges of the spots, forcing heat out of their bodies. Image source: David Clode on Unsplash. This means that by snuggling up to the cool surface literally tree-hugging!

Image source: Pierre Gui on Unsplash. Birds like this will often defecate on their own legs to cool down.

As the liquid from the poo evaporates, the body temperature is lowered. Through panting, they quickly expel warm breath from the body and take in cooler air, which passes into their lungs and works to cool down their whole body. Image source: Marv Watson on Unsplash. Reptiles are experts at regulating their own body temperature and slipping into small spaces. Image source: Joe Were on Unsplash.

When it comes to lowering their body temperature, animals like hippos and pigs love nothing more than to bathe in cool mud. As the moisture from mud evaporates, it carries away body heat at a rate much slower than evaporating water, meaning animals who love a mud bath stay cooler but grubbier for longer.

Image source: Simon Saw on Unsplash. What do elephants, hares and rabbits all have in common? The answer is big ears, which are used in very clever ways to keep them cool. Hares and rabbits regulate their entire body temperature through their ears, dilating or constricting blood vessels depending on the external temperature. Elephants take things a step further by flapping their ears to cool the blood flowing through them, and even spray water on to them for even more of a cooling effect.

For this reason, many of them estivate, which is the opposite of hibernating. During dry seasons, snails retreat into their shells and earthworms hide under ground, surviving for weeks. Only when the rain comes, making their environment wet enough and providing adequate vegetation to eat, do they reemerge.

Image source: Jakob Owens on Unsplash. Science Friday. Latest Episode. Skip to content Facbook Twitter Tumblr Reddit Email We may have just sweated through the dog days of summer, but do you know about the stellar origin story of the phrase? Horses Credit: Shutterstock Horses are a special case. Desert Lizards Credit: Shutterstock But what about cold-blooded critters? Not a lot. Meet the Writer Johanna Mayer. Explore More. How humans and other animals have evolved to beat the heat.

An in-depth survey of pet dogs revealed surprising insights about breed-specific behaviors.