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Hibernation. Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression undergone by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy characterized by low body-temperature, slow breathing and heart-rate, and low metabolic rate. It is most commonly used to pass through winter months – the so-called overwintering .
This species is nocturnal, with a diet of insects, other small animals, fruits and flowers. [12] The fat-tailed lemur is the only known primate to hibernate for extended periods of time, up to seven months. It performs this torpor during the dry season to minimise the impacts of droughts. During the wet season, it gorges on food, accumulating a ...
Grizzly bears hibernate for five to seven months each year [50] (except where the climate is warm—the California grizzly did not hibernate). [5] During this time, female grizzly bears give birth to their offspring, who then consume milk from their mother and gain strength for the remainder of the hibernation period. [ 51 ]
The hibernating bear does not display the same rate of muscle and bone atrophy relative to other nonhibernatory animals that are subject to long periods of inactivity due to ailment or old age. [ 86 ] [ 87 ] A hibernating bear only loses approximately half the muscular strength compared to that of a well-nourished, inactive human.
Black bear mother and cubs hibernating, utilizing a hibernaculum as a maternity den. Like other animals, mammals hibernate during seasons of harsh environmental conditions and resource scarcity. As it requires less energy to maintain homeostasis and survive when an individual is hibernating, this is a cost-effective strategy to increase ...
Marmot. Marmots are large ground squirrels in the genus Marmota, with 15 species living in Asia, Europe, and North America. These herbivores are active during the summer, when they can often be found in groups, but are not seen during the winter, when they hibernate underground. They are the heaviest members of the squirrel family.
[109] [110] During hibernation, the bear's metabolism slows down, its body temperature decreases slightly, and its heart rate slows from a normal value of 55 to just 9 beats per minute. [111] Bears normally do not wake during their hibernation, and can go the entire period without eating, drinking, urinating, or defecating. [47]
Punxsutawney Phil, the Pennsylvania groundhog renowned for his ability to forecast the onset of spring, did not see his shadow, predicting an early spring.