![]() Depending on the length of seasons in a region, the species, and other environmental conditions, the hibernation duration can vary significantly. Some store their food in burrows, caves, or trees, while others store it in their bellies as excess fat. 8 Animals That HibernateĮvery animal hibernates differently. As a result, they end up burning through more of their fat than planned. One of the major causes behind the deaths of millions of hibernating bats is a fungal disease called white-nose syndrome that causes bats to wake up more frequently during their hibernation periods. If an animal somehow wakes up in the middle of its hibernation cycle, it might end up burning through all its fat reserves much faster and die. If the animal fails to eat enough and build up enough fat or store enough food during the summers, it won’t survive the winter hibernating.Īdditionally, hibernation is a physiological state that takes time to achieve. Hibernation, for many creatures, is the only way to survive the low temperatures and food shortages that winter brings. Hibernation tends to last much longer because mammals eat throughout the summer to build up enough fat and reduce their metabolism to maybe 5% of its full capacity.Īnd since aestivation is done to combat water loss or dehydration, it’s shorter because the body needs water again much sooner. The difference Between Hibernation and Aestivation ![]() This is known as aestivation or summer sleep and is typically performed by cold-blooded animals such as snakes and alligators. However, animals in hot climates also undergo a different type of hibernation that allows them to survive food shortages, extreme heat, and drought. It generally only takes place during the winters in regions of higher altitudes and/or latitudes. Hibernation is characterized as the state of inactivity resembling sleep, metabolic depression, and low body temperature. Human beings have only migrated into temperate and subarctic latitudes as far back as maybe 150,000 years.īut thanks to the formation of complex hunter-gatherer societies and innovations in agriculture, food has remained a year-round luxury for humans in warm and cold regions alike. ![]() And in tropical climates, there’s no season of extreme cold or poor food availability so there was never any need to hibernate. The main reason humans don’t hibernate is that our evolutionary ancestors were all tropical species. Rather, they go even deeper into an almost coma-like state. This helps them survive the winters and periods of food shortage.Īnimals that hibernate don’t exactly sleep. ![]() They get ready for this by collecting and storing food and lowering their body temperature, heartbeat, breathing, and by virtue, their energy requirement. ![]()
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