New photos of bears ‘splooting’ in Alaska park just dropped. Find your favorite
New photos that show bears “splooting” in an Alaska national park inspired bear enthusiasts and pet owners to share their favorite splooters.
A flood of splooting bears, dogs and even a bunny showed up in the comments of Katmai National Park and Preserve’s Dec. 12 Facebook post.
Park officials shared two photos of splooting bears. One shows a bear splayed out on a beach in the park and peering back toward the photographer.
“Now that is the look of relaxation!” someone said in the comments.
The other photo shows a bear with its head resting on the sand.
“Sploot (verb): A type of stretch that involves kicking one or both legs behind the body. See also: pancaking, frogging,” park officials said in the post. “Besides being a comfortable position, it’s an all-body stretch that cools down a bear’s body temperature. Well, whatever the reason, we hope the bears keep doing it!”
One commenter replied with a photo of Holly, the 2019 champion of Fat Bear Week, splooting near the water.
“I think Holly wins as the best at Splooting!” they said, and several others agreed.
Another Facebook user posted an unidentified mama bear splooting next to her cub.
Dog owners shared photos of their pups splooting, too.
“Ruby, our little brown bear, has mastered the art of splooting,” a dog owner said, sharing a photo of their brown dog lying on a wooden floor with its back legs splayed out.
Then someone shared something a little different — their snow white bunny splooting.
“Bunny sploots!” they said.
Park officials last shared photos of splooting bears in September, McClatchy News previously reported.
Katmai National Park and Preserve is in southern Alaska, approximately 265 miles southwest of Anchorage.
This story was originally published December 13, 2023 at 1:55 PM with the headline "New photos of bears ‘splooting’ in Alaska park just dropped. Find your favorite."
