What is Hibernation?

There are many winter survival strategies in the animal world, and one of the most fascinating is hibernation.

Hibernation is a time when animals ‘sleep’ through cold weather.

In greater detail, Hibernation is a state of inactivity and metabolic depression in animals, characterized by
lower body temperature, slower breathing, and lower metabolic rate .

When an animal is in true hibernation it may appear as if it were dead. You can touch or move the animal
around and it would not wake up.

Animals that Hibernate: bats, some species of ground squirrels and other rodents, mouse lemurs,
the European hedgehog and other insectivores, monotremes and marsupials.
 Why Hibernate?
The purpose of hibernation is to increase the survivorship of a species.

Before entering hibernation most species eat a large amount of food and store energy in fat deposits to
survive the winter. Animals when animals are in hibernation their metabolism drops. This is so the animal
does not starve in his sleep.
Before hibernation the animal finds a warm, safe place to hibernate in. This is so the animal does not
become visible to predators and so that it may not freeze.

    
 When does Hibernation occur?
Hibernation occurs during desperate times when food is scares and climate may be unbearable to
animal.

When an animal begins to hibernate, its body temperature drops very low so that it almost matches the
temperature outside.   Your temperature is normally about 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.  If you were a hibernator and
it was 30 degrees outside, your body temperature would drop from 98.6 down to about 30-40 degrees. THAT’S
cold! 

Note: Not all hibernation occurs during cold weather. The desert Frog hibernates during hot weather to preserve
its moisture 