And, of course, there are lots of mammals. While bears might be the first that come to mind, for years questions have surrounded whether bears are really true hibernators. Unlike animals that stir regularly during hibernation, bears can go for days or so without needing to wake to consume or pass anything, and they can be aroused much more easily than typical hibernators. The U. National Park Service suggests they are super hibernators.
The obvious choice would be the edible dormice Glis glis Ruf works with—they can stay dormant for more than 11 months at a time in the wild. All rights reserved.
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Animals This frog mysteriously re-evolved a full set of teeth. Some may think hibernating sounds like a time of rest. However, this is not the case. By the time the animals emerge after a long winter they are often deprived of sleep, food, and water.
Some animals are even half their weight by the time spring comes around. Depending on the animal, hibernating can be a time of deep unconsciousness or light spells of inactivity.
Hibernating is much like spending a season in slow motion. Some animals, like wood frogs, for example, produce their own natural antifreeze so they can survive being frozen solid! The hibernation process differs from animal to animal. Some examples of animals that hibernate are:. Bats will go into a type of hibernation called torpor , which is the state of reduced bodily activity. Hedgehogs tend to wake up during hibernation, but they rarely leave their nests during hibernation season.
Come springtime, hibernators emerge to mate, have young, and recharge in a more hospitable environment. This extraordinary evolutionary adaptation does not come without consequences. These animals can lose one-quarter of their overall weight during the winter, and their sleepy state can leave them susceptible to predation.
Once they wake up, the animals are weak and must recover quickly if they hope to survive. Bears , on the other hand, experience less severe changes their body temperature stays within 12 degrees Fahrenheit of normal , allowing them to react to danger throughout the winter.
Unlike bears, small mammals like chipmunks lose heat quite easily, forcing them to wake up every few days to warm up, urinate, and eat. Amphibians and reptiles experience a hibernation-like state of dormancy called brumation to escape the cold, but will move about on warmer days to find water. Even more curious, some species of insects and amphibians, like wooly bear caterpillars and wood frogs produce a natural antifreeze that stops their cells from freezing completely in cold temperatures.
A similar procedure, known as therapeutic hypothermia, is already used as a medical treatment after heart attacks or traumatic brain injury.
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