With the advent of summer and the rise in temperature, our bodies sweat to relieve the effects of heat, but this function is possessed by only a few types of animals besides humans.
Animals have other, no less effective ways than sweating to avoid the ill effects of high temperatures.
Here are 7 of those ways:
sweating
Sweating is perhaps the most well-known method, as it is the main mechanism that humans and some animals have to mitigate the effects of heat on the body.
Sweat consists mostly of water with mineral salts, and when it evaporates from the skin, it lowers body temperature.
Human sweat is produced by sweat glands activated by the hypothalamus, an area of the brain that controls some key biological processes, including heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature.
The average number of sweat glands in the human body ranges between two million and five million, according to the Smithsonian magazine report.
Horses are among the animals that sweat to cool themselves off (Shutterstock)
In addition to humans, horses and monkeys are among the animals that sweat profusely.
But the composition of sweat varies from animal to animal. Horses, for example, not only sweat water and salts, but also excrete fats and proteins, and since they have thick water-resistant skin that hinders evaporation, protein-rich sweat moisturizes the hair to facilitate the flow of water for evaporation. .
gasping
The air coming out of the lungs during the breathing process is hot, so when animals want to relieve the heat, they speed up the breathing rate to get rid of the largest possible amount of heat.
It is known as panting, the process of rapidly removing hot air from the lungs and drawing cold air into it, a phenomenon known especially in dogs.
When dogs pant, they draw cold air into the moist lining of their lungs and throat, where the air gains heat and moisture through convection, which helps the animal lower its body temperature, according to the Science Friday website.
But dogs are not the only ones who benefit from this cooling function, birds are also known to pant.
Mud bath slows the evaporation of water on the skin of a hippopotamus (Shutterstock)
mud bath
Animals that do not sweat resort to other means to protect their bodies from the heat.
For hippos, elephants, pigs and buffaloes, there is nothing better than soaking in mud and enjoying a refreshing mud bath.
In addition to removing parasites, getting rid of insect bites, and protecting from the sun's rays, the clay slows the evaporation of water off the skin of animals, allowing them to feel cooler for longer.
When the water evaporates from the mud, it carries the heat away and lowers the body temperature by about two degrees Celsius, according to one of the scientific studies dealt with a report by Live Science.
big ears
Large ears enable rabbits to enjoy a fine sense of hearing, but they also serve as a way to cool the body through the large network of blood vessels that run through them and allow the rabbit to regulate body temperature as needed.
And when the weather is cold, these blood vessels constrict to conserve body heat.
Big ears help cool rabbits in hot weather (Shutterstock)
If the rabbit's external temperature is higher than the internal, the blood vessels inside the ears dilate, increasing the surface area-to-volume ratio and stimulating heat loss.
The process of regulating body temperature through the ears of desert rabbits enables them to conserve water, as they do not lose moisture through sweating or panting.
Elephants also use their ears to regulate temperature, but they have the added advantage of being able to move them like fans, which helps cool the blood flowing through their vessels by up to about 8 degrees Celsius.
Annular flutter
It is known that birds are warm-blooded, but they do not have glands that secrete sweat, so they use unique ways to regulate their body temperature, including the ring flutter.
During this process, the bird opens its mouth and flutters the thin spiral membranes of the throat quickly.
This flapping helps regulate temperature by increasing evaporation through the membranes in the throat. The greater the vibration, the more exposed the moist throat membranes to air, allowing for better evaporation.
Since the process involves only a few muscles and bones, it does not require much energy, making it an effective cooling method.
Species of birds that use throat vibrations include swans, herons, pigeons, owls, quails, and night hawks.
summer hibernation
Just as bears resort to winter hibernation to escape the harsh weather due to hypothermia, other animals sleep to escape the intense heat in a so-called inhibition or summer hibernation that helps animals survive by slowing down their metabolism, which means they do not need to eat Plenty of food during the hot months when vegetation declines and prey is scarce.
Frogs and turtles are known for their ability to remain dormant for several months, during which respiratory rate and heart rate decrease, and their activity decreases.
The freshwater lungfish hides in the underground mud near the water, where it lies dormant until the rainy season.
Some snails prevent dehydration by retreating back into their protective shells.
Snails prevent dehydration by retreating into their protective shells and entering summer hibernation (Shutterstock)
A 2013 study of common earthworms also found that they are able to survive in drought-stricken areas for weeks thanks to inhibition.
hiding
Sometimes, hiding from the sun is the best way for an animal to avoid overheating.
This is what reptiles do to protect their body from the influence of the heat of the atmosphere. If the weather is sunny and very hot, they simply move to a more shaded area to cool off.
Because they do not have an internal system to regulate their temperature, reptiles expend very little energy in dealing with atmospheric heat, which means they need much less food than other animals.
But its dependence on the outside world in turn makes it vulnerable to environmental changes.