The specific heat and susceptibilities for the two- and one-dimensional
spin--orbital models are calculated in the framework of a spherically symmetric
self-consistent approach at different temperatures and relations between the
parameters of the system. It is shown that even in the absence of the
long-range spin and orbital order, the system exhibits the features in the
behavior of thermodynamic characteristics, which are typical of those
manifesting themselves at phase transitions. Such features are attributed to
the quantum entanglement of the coupled spin and orbital degrees of freedom.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures, submitted to JETP Letter