Ho Ho Ho! Hibernation time! - Young World Club 
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Ho Ho Ho! Hibernation time!

  • POSTED ON: 22 Dec, 2017
  • TOTAL VIEWS: 1078 Views
  • POSTED BY: Chari Vijayaraghavan
  • ARTICLE POINTS: 100 Points

In winter time, the environment can become too harsh for animals and they have to find a way to cope. Some animals migrate out of the area, others enter an inactive state or ‘torpor’, which they stay in until conditions suit them better. If this inactive state lasts for a long time during the winter, it is called hibernation. From big bears to small bugs, here are a few examples…

Bears go into hibernation in winter. This is common to black and brown bears.Chipmunks, ground squirrels etc. hibernate during winter and go into torpor during other times of the year for a few days at a time.Groundhogs are some of the most famous hibernators since they have traditionally been relied on to predict the weather.Ladybugs seek coverage and try to stay warm — even going into states of torpor as needed — until spring.Like the bat and the hummingbird, skunks also enter a state of torpor.Some snails hibernate and they can do so any time the weather is extreme - both hot and cold.

Hibernation truly is a clever survival mechanism. Remember, that animals can also hibernate in summer and this is normally called ‘estivation’.