Don't stress over splooting squirrels

[pesco]

Originally published at: Don't stress over splooting squirrels | Boing Boing

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[fredtal]

I saw squirrels do this in Texas, mostly on a tree branch. Doing it one the ground would make them bait for fire ants.

[theophrastus]

Etymology 1

Imitative of the sound.

1. Onomatopoeia for a plop or splash.

Etymology 2

Blend of splay +‎ scoot

apparently we can blame owners of corgis specifically for this neologism

[MagicFox]

You know who else sploots?

[tcg550]

This is our squirrel. The last one isn’t technically splooting but definitely chilling.

[anon61221983]

[evnidetr]

My family had a pet rabbit when I was a kid and he did this all the time too (he especially enjoyed the tile floor in the summer).

[mynameismud]

I noticed a dug out spot beneath each of my trees in the front yard and assumed an animal was trying to get at something. I looked outside later and saw a squirrel splooting in each of the trenches. Considering it’s been over 100 for the last month and half here it makes perfect sense. Nice to know there’s a name for it!

[Grey_Devil]

You could put out a bird bath in a shaded area if you don’t have one out there already. Might help the local wildlife deal with the heat

[RickMycroft]

One baby bun sighted in the backyard, but it was nibbling the clover. (I expect that there are more if a mom bun snuck in to have her kids in a safe space.)

[knoxblox]

Here in Tijuana, I sploot at night in bed because of the heat. When I wake up, there’s a sweat-angel on the sheets.

[Grey_Devil]

Been there and it’s no fun. Growing up in Venezuela my childhood home had AC, but when i visited/stayed at a cousin’s place during summer break i had to adjust to their house not having AC. Which was rough considering the area they lived in had high humidity as well

[MBrody]

We get some pretty high temperatures here so I put out water bowls for the squirrels and rabbits (not sure if they actually use them though). I also have a huge bird bath that I fill with fresh water every day. I once saw five birds of different varieties splashing in it at the same time. These are the kinds of things people do as we start to get old.

[MagicFox]

The buck doesn’t sploot; he found another spot that was just as cool.

[hecep]

The chipmunks at our site do this under our raised a/c units just outside our building.

[Melizmatic]

This thread is so much more pleasant than the dubious title would have led me to believe…

[anon61221983]

Obligatory…

[RigelT]

Our guardcat stares at splooter.

[anon23281680]

@MBrody

I put out water bowls for the squirrels and rabbits

They probably do. Squirrels need something like 1-3 ounces of water a day. I notice a definite difference in my water thing when we haven’t had rain in a while. Which has been all summer this year. I need to buy a game trail cam and set it up. I want to know who empties it every night.

We have some sploot hollows under our trees and one who likes a particular tree branch

[knoxblox]

@anon23281680

sploot hollows

Band name!