What is Hibernation
In simple words, hibernation is a state of deep sleep. Hibernation differs from normal sleep in various ways. Hibernating animals take a long time to wake up from their sleep. Loud noises, poking, turning does not seem to wake hibernating animals. Even after waking up from hibernation, these animals take some time to resume their normal activities. Some people refer to hibernation as sleep similar to death. During hibernation, heart rate slows down and some of the non vital organs become entirely inactive. This is a state in which body uses minimal energy.
Why Do Animals Hibernate in the Winter
As mentioned above, winter is the time when food is less and weather rough. Animals have to spend a lot of energy finding food. Even if they succeed in finding anything, it is often not sufficient to compensate for the loss of energy while hunting for food. Besides, the cold weather may often become a cause of death. As a result of all these, animals have evolved in such a way that they have learned to reduce their food demand by reducing energy requirements. This is achieved by hibernating throughout the winter.
Before the onset of winter, when there is ample food, animals eat excessively and store this excess food in the form of fat. As winter arrives, they return to their dens or winter nests, where they spend the rest of winter hibernating. As animals hibernate, their body temperature starts dropping due to lack of activity and metabolism. At one point, it is only a few degrees higher than the ambient temperature. Blood circulation drops as heart begins to slow down. Whatever energy the body needs to perform certain minimal tasks, is derived from the fat storage. Due to lack of activity, the fat burning process is slow and steady. The energy from fat is sufficient enough to keep the animal alive for the rest of the winter.
Hibernation differs for every species. For example, some animals like black bears may sleep throughout the winter (approx seven months) without waking up while animals like squirrels may wake up every 4 days to nibble some food, excrete and then go back to sleep. Hibernation in domestic animals may vary from that of their wild counterparts. As there is no food shortage for domestic animals, their hibernation period is not marked by long periods of inactivity. Domestic animals hibernate as a result of their natural instinct but with more active periods in between.
Which Animals Hibernate
There are some animals that do not feel the need to hibernate as they can cope winter by some other mechanism. Hibernation is commonly found in warm blooded animals. Cold blooded animals may sleep through hot dry weather, this is called as estivation. Given below is a list of animals that hibernate.
Bears
Hedgehogs
Badgers
Hamster
In simple words, hibernation is a state of deep sleep. Hibernation differs from normal sleep in various ways. Hibernating animals take a long time to wake up from their sleep. Loud noises, poking, turning does not seem to wake hibernating animals. Even after waking up from hibernation, these animals take some time to resume their normal activities. Some people refer to hibernation as sleep similar to death. During hibernation, heart rate slows down and some of the non vital organs become entirely inactive. This is a state in which body uses minimal energy.
Why Do Animals Hibernate in the Winter
As mentioned above, winter is the time when food is less and weather rough. Animals have to spend a lot of energy finding food. Even if they succeed in finding anything, it is often not sufficient to compensate for the loss of energy while hunting for food. Besides, the cold weather may often become a cause of death. As a result of all these, animals have evolved in such a way that they have learned to reduce their food demand by reducing energy requirements. This is achieved by hibernating throughout the winter.
Before the onset of winter, when there is ample food, animals eat excessively and store this excess food in the form of fat. As winter arrives, they return to their dens or winter nests, where they spend the rest of winter hibernating. As animals hibernate, their body temperature starts dropping due to lack of activity and metabolism. At one point, it is only a few degrees higher than the ambient temperature. Blood circulation drops as heart begins to slow down. Whatever energy the body needs to perform certain minimal tasks, is derived from the fat storage. Due to lack of activity, the fat burning process is slow and steady. The energy from fat is sufficient enough to keep the animal alive for the rest of the winter.
Hibernation differs for every species. For example, some animals like black bears may sleep throughout the winter (approx seven months) without waking up while animals like squirrels may wake up every 4 days to nibble some food, excrete and then go back to sleep. Hibernation in domestic animals may vary from that of their wild counterparts. As there is no food shortage for domestic animals, their hibernation period is not marked by long periods of inactivity. Domestic animals hibernate as a result of their natural instinct but with more active periods in between.
Which Animals Hibernate
There are some animals that do not feel the need to hibernate as they can cope winter by some other mechanism. Hibernation is commonly found in warm blooded animals. Cold blooded animals may sleep through hot dry weather, this is called as estivation. Given below is a list of animals that hibernate.
Bears
Hedgehogs
Badgers
Hamster
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