Good morning and welcome to Kid News. I'm Kevin.

Today is Tuesday, August 16th, 2022.

And we begin with, what turns out to be pretty normal animal behavior

is raising concern among some New Yorkers.

When temperatures in the Big Apple recently reached into the mid 90s,

members of the city's squirrel population

responded by doing what animals often do to cool off.

They spluted.

Spluting is really just another word

for when animals stretch out their hind legs behind them,

usually on cool surfaces, in order to lower their body heat.

Maybe you've seen your dog or cat splute on hot days at home,

or maybe you've witnessed the half-splute,

where one leg is out while the other remains tucked.

In any case, the New York City Parks Department felt the need to issue a tweet

along with an accompanying and very cute picture of a squirrel mid-splute,

reassuring city dwellers not to be alarmed.

Meanwhile, down under,

zookeepers at Astroias Adelaide Zoo did have cause for concern

when one of their red pandas escaped from his enclosure.

Having just arrived last week,

seven-year-old Ravi was apparently more curious

...