Do Animals Sweat?

Perspiration or sweating is our body's natural way to regulate body temperature. When the body is heated, sweat glands are produced and are made of mostly water, salt, potassium, and other minerals. Our skin releases it from the body. The body temperature is lower by the evaporation of sweat; as with it, heat is carried away too.

Interestingly, only mammals are born with sweat glands. However, you will never see a dog or cat sweating like us. Even though mammals are like humans, most mammals do not possess a huge number of sweat glands like us. Primates such as horses and apes have many sweat glands, making sweating like humans possible for them. Horses possess a certain kind of gland, which is usually present in running animals.

Other mammals with fewer sweat glands have their own ways of regulating body temperatures. They need to cool their bodies when it is too hot, and for that, they use various techniques. For example, hippopotamuses and pigs roll their bodies in mud to cool themselves. As the muddy water starts evaporating from the skin, the heat is carried away too, just like sweat does in us.

Some people believe hippopotamuses sweat blood, but that is untrue. The reddish-orange secretion from their pores is not sweating but a substance that helps keep their skin moist and protects them from the UV rays.

Animals such as dogs take refuge in panting to cool their bodies. Panting brings in the cool air while expelling the hot air. It helps in the quick evaporation of the moisture present in the mouth and reduces body temperature.

Some animals can even take the help of their ears to keep cool. Jackrabbits are pro at constricting and expanding their blood vessels present in their enormous ears. This helps to adjust the rate of losing heat through the ears. Elephants use their gigantic ears as fans for flapping and keeping the body cool.

There are some mammals with little sweat glands which produce a small amount of sweat through the paws. The classic example would be badgers. Their paws stink very badly as they sweat to releasing heat and for maintaining body temperature. (See How many Animals are there in the World?)

Cattle are not capable of sweating effectively. They have to depend on respiration for cooling their body temperatures. Not just climatic conditions but the process of fermentation in the rumen produces additional heat which the cattle have to dissipate through respiration.