Bats

Bats are found all over the world except the North and South Poles. Not all bats will hibernate during the winter, some will fly south to escape the cold, other bats will stay and wait it out. Such as the Brown Bat or Red Bat, or many others they will build up a layer of fat during the summer and use it up slowly during the winter. Bats drop their body temperature to match the winter outside, this slows down their heart beat and dependence on oxygen, which in turn uses up less energy using less of the stored fat. A bat in hibernation may only breath once a minute, and its heart will only beat 10 times in the same minute. Most of these bats mate before taking on their deep sleep, males and females will sleep together and while they sleep the female will have stored enough fat for her and the young to grow. The male is first to leave the cave or barn or where ever they decide to take refuge. The mother will give birth in spring. Bats sleep upside down while they hibernate, by wrapping their wings around them seals them off from drafts and prevents them from catching hypothermia and dying.

The Fat-Tailed Lemur

Fat Tailed Lemurs live in Madagascar instead of hibernating through the winter months they hibernate during the dry season. They store up fat that they can use during their sleeping period, they can sleep up to 6 months of the year if needs be. These animals live alone and they only come together to sleep and mate. Unlike the bat they mate when they come out of hibernation, they give birth to two or three young before they sleep. Adult lemurs are first to sleep and their young then follow them when they have enough food. They gather in groups of 3-5 lemurs and they huddle together. They survive by living off the fat that they stored in their tails, this is what gives them the name of the Fat Tailed Lemur. After they wake up they all go their separate ways and they dont meet up again until the next dry season. They drop their body heat to a stable temperature, this allows their bodies to use up the stored fat with a slow metabolism.

Gila Monster

Image via Wikipedia

The Gila Monster is a nocturnal, slow moving and meat eating poisonous lizard. It lives in the desert areas of Mojave, Sonoran and the Chihuahuan Desert in Mexico and the United States. It hibernates through the Winter months underground in a burrow. The Gila Monster lives off its fat that it stored in its short rounded tail, it acquires these fats from various prey they eat such as rats, birds, lizards, frogs or eggs. This lizard can live for months without eating or using up any fat from its tail.

The Jerboa

The Jeroba is a small jumping rodent with big ears. Jerobas grow to be 2-6 inches long only and they can jump up to ten feet in distance. There are 25 different species of Jeroba across the globe, they inhabit dry desert areas of Asia and Africa. The smallest of these Jeroba’s is called the Pygmy Jeroba these are less than two inches long, they are only 47mm. Their diet consists of both plants and animals, such as seeds and insects. Jeroba’s don’t drink water they obtain their water from the food they eat. These animals hibernate during the winter or summer months depending on their location. They store fat that layers their bodies and they survive off that, like other animals that hibernate they drop their body temperature to use up less energy, they also enter a deep like sleep and like the bat only breathe once a minute on average and their heart beat reduces.

Notothenia Coriiceps

The Notothenia Coriiceps is an Antarctic fish that hibernates under the Ice, it is the only fish that has been discovered that hibernates. This fish has the ability to lower its body temperature to suit the Antarctic waters, this enables the fish to sleep and use very little oxygen while it waits for the current to change. They hide on the sea bed usually under a rock or in the sand. Usually fish match the temperature of the water but they don’t usually hibernate. While animals on land hibernate they store food because of the lack of supply in the winter months. Seeing as this is a quite recent find by marine biologists they still don’t know why they hibernate, their food seems to be abundant in their habitat.

Snakes

Snakes hibernate because they are cold blooded creatures, they adjust their body temperature to suit their surroundings. Snakes are usually the same temperature as the air that surrounds them, they prefer a warmer climate but if they get too hot or cold they will cook or freeze. Snakes hibernate in dens , usually a cave or a hole in the ground, they put on weight to supply them with enough fat to survive the harsh cold or heat depending on the areas or snake. It is common for snakes to share a den with other species of snake, some dens can consist of over 200 snakes of various species. They can also maintain a stable temperature that breaks down their fat with a slow metabolism. Snakes can last for up to 2 months without eating anything.

Frogs

Frogs are found around the world, only the frogs that live in cold climates will hibernate during the Winter months to evade the cold. The frogs in the warmer climates will hibernate through the dry seasons. In both cases the frogs will hibernate under the ground. They will dig a hole and bury themselves alive under the mud and wait for the rains to fall. Some frogs will shed a layer of skin to add more protection from the cold. Not all frogs will bury themselves some will hide in caves or crevices in the rocks or even in bored out logs or trees. They keep from freezing over from the glucose that their body produces, the glucose acts as an insulator. There are other frogs that will hibernate under water, they have the ability to extract oxygen from the water through their skin.

Turtles

Turtles will hibernate to escape the cold or heat. They hibernate under the mud or even under pond or river beds. They also have the ability to slow down their heart beat, this enables them to use up less oxygen. They store up fat in their shells during the season prior to their hibernation’s. The turtle is a cold blooded animal so their body temperature changes with the climate, when they reach a certain temperature they wake back up and carry on as they did before their deep sleep. While in these deep sleeps they don’t grow, move or eat.