Glands such as thyroid and pituitary tinker the amounts of hormones released in our body and control just every physiological aspect. Larger animals do so by eating huge amounts of food and becoming fat whereas smaller ones prefer to store non-perishable food items in their dens (also known as food caching). Hence, they have to store adequate energy before entering hibernation. Ground squirrels and lemurs make a den (also known as a hibernaculum), polar bears dig tunnels in the snow and other bears might spend the winter in a hollow beside a tree or a shallow cave and bats are well known for wintering in caves or attics. Animals prepare for hibernation in several ways. It can occur anytime throughout the year.īut how do animals sense that it is time to hibernate or to wake up? Different animals have different ways of knowing, which the outside temperature mostly influences. On the other hand, a majority of birds and some mammals undergo “light hibernation” or torpor, during which the period of inactivity lasts only for hours rather than days or weeks and is often interrupted by activity and feeding. African lungfish, some amphibians, and Malagasy fat-tailed dwarf lemur. It is more common in invertebrates like land-snails and insects but occurs in vertebrates also, viz. The parallel of hibernation during summer (hot and dry conditions) is aestivation. In reptilians, this state of dormancy is called brumation. Some mammals like female polar bears enter this state while they are pregnant and give birth to young ones during hibernation. Many members of the three mammalian subclasses hibernate (Monotremes, Marsupials, Placentals) but the only avian/bird species known to hibernate is the common poorwill. This long-term state of inactivity during winter is defined as hibernation, which can last several days, weeks or months depending on the species and the surrounding environment. One survival strategy to conserve energy during periods of food scarcity is by slowing down their metabolic rate ( metabolism), resulting in a decrease in body temperature and in some cases 0☌ or below, viz. But what do animals do in extreme environmental conditions when food becomes scarce? The body works fine when enough food is consumed to drive these processes. For instance, in warm-blooded animals, an enormous amount of energy is utilized to maintain body temperature within certain limits ( thermoregulation). Photo Source: Irena Wanot, Modified from Īnimals spend energy in various bodily functions like walking, breathing, digesting food, thinking and even while sleeping. Photo Description: Squirrel, a brown bear, a dormouse, a groundhog and a hedgehog (clockwise from top left) India's Contribution to Environmental Sciences.Ecology, Natural Resources and Conservation.
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