Hibernating Animals

For wild animals surviving through harsh winter and food shortages becomes rather challenging. To counter this some animals have adapted to certain natural process called hibernation. Hibernation is often confused with a long sleep but it is rather more different. During hibernation, animals decrease their following boy functions.

• Metabolic rate
• Temperature
• Heart rate
• Breathing
• Need for food

We bring you some of the hibernating animals in the animal kingdom.

Bears:-

Almost every knowledgeable person knows that bears are hibernating animals. You will be amazed to know that instead of Hibernation they go into a process called Torpor which is also quite similar to hibernation. In Torpor condition bears are able to drop their heart rate, breathing rate and even decrease their body temperature but they can still wake up easily and they often do wake up.  In this condition bears can still go on without waking, eating, drinking or even go on to stay asleep without need of disposing any wastes materials from their bodies.

Box Turtles:-

Many species of turtles can hibernate but this process is dependent on their exact species and the geographical location. Box Turtles of the turtle species are able to hibernate from three to five months in a year. For hibernation, they dig holes in grounds called burrows. Once settled inside these burrows, turtles drop down their heart beat rte from 5 to 10 beats in one minute and after that they completely stop breathing. No, they do not die after stopping breathing as they take up oxygen through their skin.

Common Poorwill:-

It is uncommon to hear that birds hibernate. This is true because most birds do not hibernate except only one bird known as “Common Poorwill”. Common Poorwill only hibernates because there is shortage of its insect food in winter season. They choose hibernation over migration to pass the winter. For hibernation they snuggle themselves up in a hollow tree log and lower down their metabolic rate.

Bats:-

Bats choose the state of Torpor (reduce Hibernation) overnight after either temperature drops or food becomes scarce. Some species of Bats do take up long hibernation states in winter season and generally these species are in the areas where insect food supply becomes scarce in winter. In both states of Torpor and Hibernation, bats hung themselves upside down on ceilings or walls of caves while reducing their heart rate to only 10 beats per minute.

Bumble bees:-

Not all the species of bees hibernate. However for Bumble bees and especially their queen, hibernation is necessary for survival. All the male and worker bumble bees die after the temperature drops down. Queen left alone find a place to wait until winter passes. After temperature rise again, queen again builds a nest and lay out a whole new bee colony.