Animal hibernation is not just about sleeping for long periods, there is much more to it. During hibernation, the animal undergoes various changes such as a drop in the body temperature, slow heart rate, shallow breathing, and significantly reduced physical activities.
The next reason why animals hibernate is to protect themselves from the harsh winter and try to survive even without food resources. They also slow down their metabolism and other bodily functions to reduce their energy needs.
One important thing before we move on, animal hibernation in hot weather is known as aestivation. Now, let’s meet our sleepy animals.
Bats
Bats are found worldwide and are animals that hibernate in winter. However, not all bats hibernate; some migrate to protect themselves from the harsh winters.
Facts
- Bats hibernate for about 183 days from November to mid-April.
- During this period their physical functioning reduces due to which their energy remains in reserve.
- To prepare for hibernation, bats change their diet before winter, consuming more food and using stored fat during hibernation.
Bumblebee
Bumblebees are mostly queen bees that hibernate in winter from November to the end of March. They can hibernate for up to six months and are mostly found in temperate regions excluding Antarctica and Australia.
Facts
- Bumblebees are important for pollination and interestingly, bumblebees’ wings flap 130 or more times per second.
- At the end of summer, the old queen and workers die and the new bumblebee queen hibernates and returns after hibernation to form new colonies.
- Before animal hibernation, bumblebees eat nectar and pollen to build up stored fat that serves as reserve energy.
- Bumblebees usually hibernate in burrows, soil banks, flower pots, and other places.
Common Poorwill
The common poorwill is the only bird that hibernates and can hibernate for 25 days to up to 100 days. This bird is native to western North America, central Mexico, and southern Canada.
Facts
- During the hibernation period, the body temperature of common poorwill drops to 41 degrees Fahrenheit and oxygen consumption reduces by 90 percent.
- Common Poorwill hibernates under piles of rocks, shallow rocks, bushes, and tree logs.
- This bird is an insectivore and eats insects, grasshoppers, crickets, moths, etc.
- The metabolic rate of this bird decreases greatly during hibernation. That is why, this bird can survive without food for several weeks to months.
Fat-tailed dwarf Lemur
The thick-tailed dwarf lemur is the only primate that goes into hibernation, its hibernation period is 3 to 7 months. This lemur is found mostly in the southern and western dry deciduous forests of Madagascar.
Facts
- During animal hibernation, its body temperature drops significantly and the heartbeat decreases from 300 to 8 beats per minute.
- The fat-tailed dwarf lemur is nocturnal and mostly frugivore, it likes to eat fruits and juices but sometimes also eats insects.
- Before hibernation, the lemur gorges on food and stores fat in its tail to survive the winter.
Groundhogs
Groundhogs are rodents, native to North America, Southern US, Alaska to Atlantic ocean. It is also known as woodchuck and its animal hibernation lasts up to 150 days.
Facts
- Groundhog hibernation mostly begins in late October and lasts from late February to early March. However, this hibernation period can last up to five months.
- During hibernation, groundhogs curl up like a ball of fur that looks completely lifeless.
- During this period, their heartbeat decreases from 80 to 5 beats per second and breathing decreases from 16 to two breaths per minute to reserve energy.
- Groundhogs are great diggers who create complex burrow systems with multiple entries.
Hedgehogs
Hedgehogs are social creatures native to Europe, Africa, and Asia and their hibernation period can last from several weeks to several months. Similar to other animal hibernation, this animal also reduces its bodily functions to preserve energy.
Facts
- Hedgehogs’ hibernation period mostly lasts from late October to early March.
- This animal mostly hibernates in dry and sheltered places such as piles of logs, manure heaps, and sheds.
- This animal is lactose intolerant and carnivorous and mostly eats insects, beetles, worms, and sometimes frogs, bird eggs, etc.
- Hedgehogs are great swimmers and good runners with speeds of up to 9.5 km/h.
Box Turtles
The box turtle, also known as the freshwater turtle, is native to North America but is also found on the eastern Gulf Coast of Mexico. The box turtle’s animal hibernation lasts from 3 to 5 five months.
Facts
- The box turtle’s animal hibernation period begins in October and lasts until late February, March, or early April.
- To reserve energy for the hibernation period, this animal stores fat and glycogen, a form of glucose.
- Box turtles have a protective shell made up of 50 bones that grow larger as they grow. Whenever they feel threatened, they pull their head, arms, and legs inside the shell for protection.
Wood Frog
Wood frogs are native to Canada, North America, and the United States. This animal is mostly found in forests, wetlands, and marshy habitats. This animal can hibernate for eight months.
Facts
- Wood frogs freeze themselves into solid form and go into hibernation. This animal can remain frozen for six months at -17 degrees Celsius temperature.
- Most often, this animal hibernates under a thick layer of leaf litter or soil.
- When it goes into hibernation, one cannot detect its vital signs like heartbeat, blood circulation, breathing, and other signs.
- The wood frog stores energy in the form of fat and during hibernation it produces glucose which prevents cell freezing and binds water molecules to protect the body from dehydration.
Snails
Snails are found in various habitats of the world including tropical rainforests, deserts of the arctic region, etc. Snails usually hibernate for a few days to a few months but can last up to a few years.
Facts
- Snails hibernate in harsh winters and estivate in extremely hot weather.
- Snails have a permanent spiral-shaped shell that protects them when they feel threatened.
- Snails hibernate within their protective shells by sealing the opening of their shells with a mucus plug that helps prevent dehydration.
Ground Squirrel
Ground squirrels are found throughout the world, including Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, and other places. The hibernation period of this animal varies according to location. However, it hibernates for several months to a year.
Facts
- Ground squirrels are omnivorous and eat grass, fruits, and sometimes even small animals.
- This animal survives the hibernation period by reducing its bodily functions and storing energy in the form of body fat.
- They shake and shiver for 12-15 hours each week to keep their bodies warm.