Critters Combat Cold With Long Winter Naps
Though we are all still freezing when we step outside, spring is on its way! And while we live our lives despite the fact it is 20-below outside, other animals hibernate for the winter – creating a warm bungalow where they live off body fat and take a lengthy, months long nap – it makes you wonder who is smarter, us or them.
These smart little creatures are still hibernating now, and since the groundhog, sadly, saw his shadow on his most auspicious holiday this Feb. 2, spring weather will be slightly farther away and a few extra naps may be in order for hibernating critters this winter.
For these hibernating animals, their winter slumber can be more than just a sleep. For some, like woodchucks, ground squirrels and bats, the animal can be touched or moved without even knowing it. Others, like bears, are light sleepers and go into a temporary sleep from which they can be awoken more easily. These light sleepers also take time for intermediate snacks between winter naps – you definitely don't want to be around for that.
When animals hibernate, they are trying to adjust their bodies to the cold temperatures. For example, according to an environmental education site through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, a woodchuck's heart rate goes from 80 beats a minute when active to 4 or 5 beats a minute when in hibernation and its body temperature drops from 98 degrees Fahrenheit to 38 degrees Fahrenheit. Bats, however, need to hibernate in a place above freezing and often crowd together for warmth in caves (a hibernacula).
Warm blooded animals aren't the only animals that hibernate for the winter. According to the Think Quest Educational Foundation, cold-blooded hibernators begin hibernation when the cold weather causes their body temperatures to drop. For humans, our temperature consistently stays about 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Cold-blooded animal temperatures stay the same as the air temperature around them. If it is 50 degrees outside, the lizard is around 50 degrees and the same goes if it is 110 outside.
The natural instinct and ability for animals to hibernate is a little bit of a mystery. Some animals add more fur to their coat, others migrate to warmer climates – another one of nature's mysteries – and still others decided to head underground for an unusually long nap. But somehow, they know it is time to wakeup and begin preparation for their next winter nap. This preparation time is when we see them scurrying across our lawns and digging in our gardens. Then we will know spring has sprung!
