Eli5 Animals can lay in the sun for hours, how do they not get burned or sick?
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They do. I had a little dog who loved to lay in the sun. She’d sunburn her bare belly many times if I let her.
Cold blooded organisms need sunlight to regulate their body temperature and can sometimes lay in the sun for hours, since they can’t auto regulate like us warm blooded organisms.
As for warm blooded organisms usually the way that we cool ourselves down when in lots of heat is by sweat. We have sweat glands all throughout our body but many organisms do not. Cats have sweat glands on their paws. Dogs also have sweat glands on their paws and their nose, and you see dogs panting as well. Bigger cats like lions and tigers also pant. Birds do it too, but it’s not like the panting of cats or dogs
Animals can and do die of dehydration though
Fur provides a lot of protection from the sun, it’s like you won’t get sunburn through clothes. Animals will seek out shade too… in Texas in the summer you’ll see cows standing under the few shade trees.
Hippos secrete a sort of natural sunscreen as their backs are often exposed above the water.
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