What is Hibernation

What is Hibernation? Hibernation, also known as winter sleep, is a condition of decreased activity and reduced metabolic rate during winters. Hibernation is basically a physiological condition of rest and lowered body-temperature, accompanied by decreased breathing and slow heart-rate. It is most often experienced during the cold winter months when temperature and snow accumulates in high levels.

Many hibernators will enter a very deep sleep in the winter prior to the start of winter, then awaken in the spring ready to take part in their normal activities.

How does hibernation work

The body, when in a state of hibernation, works very hard to conserve energy by reducing metabolism and slowing down muscle activity. Since our brains are generally used in higher states of activity than the muscles, the brain uses up more energy than normal when in this state. This is why people who suffer from chronic diseases that involve increased brain activity often feel tired even if they are resting.

There are some animals which only Hibernate for specific reasons. Some animals will hibernate because they are sick or under heavy weight, or in order to save energy for the winter. Some animals may hibernate if they are threatened with death, or if they have to hide from their predators.

How do animals hibernate

The majority of animals, such as birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and even insects, hibernate. Insects and certain fish are known to hibernate for the winter to conserve their body temperature while some fishes actually fall into a semi-motor hibernation state at the ocean’s bottom. It is believed that most insects hibernate to avoid predators while some fish and reptiles only hibernate for a short time each year. Some bears even hibernate for the winter to keep their body temperatures low to avoid dealing with the cold temperatures of the forest.

Why do animals hibernate

Most animals that hibernate fall into one of two categories: bovine and arboreal. A bovine hibernate by falling into a deep sleep similar to a cat or dog. While arboreal hibernates by hanging onto trees, rocks, or any low shrub around them during the day to stay warm.

Why would a hibernator need to conserve their body temperature so they can hibernate? When a hibernator hibernates, their body temperature is lower than when they are awake, allowing for energy conservation. Many hibernators, such as bats, ground squirrels, porcupines, and wolves, lose ten percent or more of their body weight when they hibernate. The reason for this is due to the animal’s fat reserves decreasing while they hibernate.

Can you see why reducing your body weight to a less comfortable state while sleeping might help you hibernate? If you have been losing weight for sometime then you will probably hibernate during the winter months when your body temperatures are naturally lowered. During winter months it is hard to lose any more weight than you usually do. Since your body is still in the stage of thermogenesis, which means it is producing heat to keep your body warm, there is not much additional heat needed. However, as the temperatures drop overnight, your body will begin to respond to the drop in temperatures. This increased metabolic rate is what causes the body to slow down so it can conserve its heat.

Hibernation examples

Most people have heard of hibernators, but not all know what animals actually hibernate for winter. A hibernator is any animal that stores energy during cold seasons, then conserves that energy until springtime when it is warm enough to return to their hibernation warm. Although some animals do hibernate such as squirrels and bats, most other animals do not.

Which animals hibernate

1. Bear hibernation

Some animals do hibernate, such as brown bears. Brown bears spend much of their winter under a blanket of snow, eating whatever they can find around them, until they can reach their dens. Some bears will hibernate for up to five months, even a year!The most common hibernating bear is the brown bear. Brown bears will spend a good part of the year in their dens or burrows, and their activity level will decrease during the summer. They will hibernate during the summer, and come back out of their hibernation in the fall. While the bear hibernates, they won’t be able to harm themselves, but they will not be able to come out of it. In fact, they may not come out of it at all, and spend the rest of the winter either asleep or deeply in a sleep cycle.

One of the first animals to be thought to hibernate is the black bear. The brown bear is believed to hibernate from December through February. Black bears are often found sleeping in burrows, under rocks, and hollow trees. Sometimes you will find black bears hibernating in barbed wire, though most of them will move freely within their own den if given the opportunity.

The gray bear is another creature which hibernates, but they do so only during the coldest months of the year. These bears will often move to the north where the weather is milder and warmer. They will not hibernate indoors.

The polar bears are another hibernating bear species. There are some subspecies which hibernate for the entire year, and these are the Amur the bear and the Arctic fox. The polar bears will move into a den which has a temperature which is similar to that of the surrounding ground, and they sleep underground. When the polar bears sleep they will conserve much of their body heat, so that they can stay warm and have energy for their hibernation.

2. Bats

Many animals hibernate, including bats. Most bats don’t hibernate entirely, but only for a few weeks, a few days or a short period of time. When a bats’ hibernation period ends, it’s very possible for bats to hibernate again. Bats’ ability to hibernate has helped them survive during cold winters, when there was less food to be had and their hives provided a place to sleep, allowing them to survive even when there wasn’t anything left to eat.

3. Deer

Another hibernating animal is the white-tailed deer. While most people think of deer in the winter, these deer will hibernate also, and do so for quite some time. Deer are one of the hibernating bear species. They will move into a den which is like a tunnel, and will stay there until it freezes outside. Then they will hibernate indoors, sometimes for several months.

4. Other animals

A few animals which hibernate are bats, birds, dragonflies, rodents, moths, rabbits, and even locusts. Bear, raccoon, porcupine, and squirrels are also thought to hibernate. Some of the animals which are thought to hibernate include voles, mice, bats, birds, deer, porcupines, rabbits, and squirrels.

5. Birds

Some animals which hibernate for long periods of time are birds, even though most birds will hibernate some during the winter. There are even certain birds which will hibernate for as long as a year! And of course, some mites will hibernate, including those of the ticks and fleas.

Hibernation vs  torpor

Torpor

Some animals appear to only hibernate for short periods of time. Many birds enter torpor, which means they sleep most of the year, then emerge from their winterized homes to fly back to their breeding grounds to mate and raise young. This is why many birds’ feet grow bigger in the winter, while they’re not growing any bigger in the summer. Animals may enter torpor for a variety of reasons, including the change of seasons. In animals that hibernate, their body temperatures may decrease for a brief period of time, allowing their muscles to relax and their tissues to slow down.

Why animals go into torpor

The reason some animals hibernate is related to their physiology. Like hibernating bears and some other animals, bats and some birds can use their body temperatures to stay warm, and their natural hibernation environments provide a good place to rest. But they also use torpor to conserve energy and protect their bodies from predators that seek to prey on them. As someone who enjoys camping out, I know how important a good nights sleep is for my pet ferret, Opossum.

Hibernation

There are hibernators such as voles and moths, but there are many other hibernating creatures such as certain species of birds, bats, seals and even some reptiles. It’s believed that the arctic ground squirrels have the most remarkable ability of all hibernators. They can go months without eating, and in the winter, they can go back to their hibernation homes to hibernate once again.

Read also:

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• What is biodiversity and its advantages

• Natural Selection Definition Biology

• What is ecosystem and its components

• Short Note On Endangered Species

• What causes seasons

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