Every year, certain animals stay in a comatose state, sending themselves into a sleepy stupor. They hibernate to conserve energy. They cool their bodies by 5° to 10°C and slow down their metabolism. For instance, the Arctic ground squirrels cool themselves to subfreezing temperatures! They do wake up and warm up intermittently. Some animals even hibernate as a response to the shortage of food. Here we take a look at some of the animals that go into hibernation.
SNAKES
In the case of snakes, they experience brumation, where they remain dormant. is technically different from hibernation, but they prepare for the winter by going into a state of partial sleep. This helps them conserve energy for breeding. The length of the dormancy varies according to the location of the snakes. While some may go into brumation for weeks, others might for months. There are also occasions when they venture out of their resting spot for hydration. While some snakes brumate alone, some such as the garter snakes brumate together, more like a communal brumation.
BEARS
Think hibernation and the first animal that comes to your mind is the bear. Of course, when the winter sets in, they go into hibernation and survive the winter thus. But with climate change and changes in the temperature, bears have been seen to come out of their hibernation a bit earlier than usual. According to wildlife experts, this early emergence from hibernation isn’t good for the animal.
COMMON POORWILLL
You wouldn’t have heard about birds going into hibernation. Yet there is one bird that does the unthinkable. The Common poorwill is the only bind that hibernates, the sole reason being that the bird’s insect food isn’t available during the winter season! So instead of migrating, like other birds do, they pull through the winter by huddling inside a hollow log, lowering their metabolism and hibernating.
MARMOTS
With the onset of fall, marmots use dirt and plants to cover their tunnel entrances. They are preparing for the annual ritual of hibernation to hide from predators. For about 8 months of a year, the marmots go into hibernation. During this inactive state, they burn the fat that they stored and slow down their vitals. They even reduce their heart rate. And once spring sets in, they emerge from the hibernation.
SNAILS
Did you know that snails also hibernate? Well, some snails hibernate during the colder months. They cover their bodies in a layer of mucus. They crawl into their shell and seal the entrance with mucus. This thin mucus layer prevents them from drying out. The same activity is carried out by some snails during the summer and this is called aestivation, a prolonged period of inactivity to survive the dry periods.
BUMBLEBEES
While not all bees go into hibernation, bumblebees do. In fact, they hibernate for a longer period of their lives. Some queen bees even hibernate for nine months. That is like three-fourths of their entire life span!
Picture Credit : Google
