Animals that Hibernate

Hibernation, also known as 'winter sleep', is a state of deep sleep or dormancy that an animal undergoes during the cold months of winter. During this phase body metabolism and heart rate of the animal go down drastically and the animal practically sleeps for various days to months. There are two types of hibernation, namely 'true' hibernation and torpor, or temporary hibernation. In true hibernation, the animal falls into such a deep sleep that it appears to be dead. The body temperature, breathing and the heart rate drops down. Torpor is a state of short sleep, where the heart rate and body temperature goes down but the animal is able to move around. There are various degrees of hibernation and not all animals go into a complete state of hibernation.

Adaptations of Hibernating Animals

The only reason why certain animals hibernate, is to escape from the harsh weather in winter. Both warm and cold blooded animals hibernate during winter. Certain species of fish, amphibians and insects also survive the cold months of winter through the process of hibernation. Before the animals go into hibernation, they use the following adaptation techniques.

• Before the onset of winter, the animal eats a lot of food and stores it in the body in the form of fat. When it undergoes hibernation, the animal uses this fat to survive the chilling days.
• The body temperature drops to match the outside temperature.
• They go into a deep slumber and almost appear to be dead, with their breathing and heart rate slowing down.

List of Animals that Hibernate

There are many animals that undergo deep sleep during winter. Given below is a list of animals that become dormant during winter as a method of survival. They resume their life activities once the cold winter months are over.

	Badgers are inhabitants of Europe, Asia and North America. They are torpors or temporary hibernators and in winters they store enough food in their burrows, so that they may wake up, eat and go back to sleep again. Badgers are omnivores, that is they eat both plants and animals. Honey badgers, one of the types of badgers are found mostly in Africa and Asia and are nocturnal animals.
	Bears are a classic example of animals that undergo hibernation. Bears are found everywhere from swamps and mountains to the cold Arctic regions. Before the winter arrives, a bear hunts for an appropriate place to spend the cold months in. Once the place is found, it eats huge quantities of food and stores it in its body in the form of fat. During the months that it sleeps, the bear utilizes the stored fat till the winter is over.
	Frogs living in colder climates, hibernate in winter in small creeks, cracks in logs and in rocky places. They store glucose in their bodies that keeps them from getting frozen. Some of the species of frogs even hibernate under water. Toads are cold blooded and nocturnal creatures. Their hibernation period begins from October and some toads are known to hibernate for as long as three to four years. They survive on body fat that has been stored in their bodies during the warm months.
	Hedgehogs are spiny mammals and are found in Europe, Africa, New Zealand and Asia. Usually, hedgehogs maintain a constant body temperature, i.e 35 degree centigrade, during summer but at the onset of winter, their temperature drops to 6 degree centigrade in order to cope with the scarcity of food. Hedgehogs go into hibernation for about 2 to 5 months with the males hibernating before the females.
	Moths are a species of insects that closely resemble a butterfly. These insects have to undergo behavioral and physiological adaptations in order to combat the extreme winter months. The adaptation is different in each stage of the moth's life cycle. The eggs take a longer while to hatch, the caterpillar does not emerge out of the pupa for fear of starvation. Adult moths hibernate in clusters and during the winters they sleep in creeks or cracks in the wood.

The list of hibernating animals is a never ending one. Here are a few more names of animals that adapt themselves to climatic changes, in order survive the intense winter.

• Hamsters
• Prairie Dogs
• Dormouse
• Bats
• Fat-tailed lemurs
• Ground squirrels
• Lizards
• Snails
• Snakes
• Earthworms
• Ladybird
• Mosquitoes

Animals that Hibernate and Migrate

Another change adapted by some species of animals is that they go to places with warmer climes and stay there till the winter is over. Their body clocks are timed accordingly and once the climate in their habitat becomes warm, they migrate back. Given below is a list of animals that migrate to other places, to escape the freezing temperature.

• Certain types of birds like geese, ducks etc.
• Animals like elks, whales, and caribou.
• Insects such as termites, Japanese beetle, moths and butterflies like Monarch butterflies.

An interesting article, wasn't it? I'm sure after reading this article you too wish to undergo such changes in order to escape the tensions of life. The animal kingdom is full of such mysterious creatures, that adapt themselves to the various climatic and environmental changes. Really intriguing!