Animals falling. Design and research work “Winter hibernation in animals. Why sleep so long
Many animals living in the temperate and cold zones of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres tend to hibernate. From childhood, from fairy tales, we have known such a character as a bear, spending in a den, sucking its paw, best time own life. What animals hibernate in winter? How long can it last? Do badgers hibernate? Find out about this and much more in our article.
Tens of thousands
In fact, quite a lot of representatives of the animal world fall into this state (in its various variations), if insects are also taken into account. By carefully counting them, you can get tens of thousands of them, so the listing alone will take many pages.
What animals hibernate in winter? Of the warm-blooded, some mammals do this. Hedgehogs, bears, marmots, dormouse, ground squirrels, bats, for example. Of the birds - the California nightjar. From cold-blooded - many fish, reptiles and amphibians.
Badger
This predator is a representative of the marten family (they also include minks, martens, ferrets, otters). This is a fairly large animal. Body weight reaches over 20 kilograms, length - up to a meter, tail - over 20 centimeters. It has a thick wedge-shaped body. The muzzle is narrow, elongated, with characteristic longitudinal stripes. Neck and When walking, the animal stands on the entire foot, which gives it a characteristic clubfoot gait. Nature has endowed the badger with powerful claws adapted to digging the earth.
Where does it live?
He lives in mixed forests, taiga and mountain areas. As a rule, near water bodies, where there is a good forage base, but in dry, well-drained areas.
The badger digs deep holes, entire branched cities. Studies have shown that these representatives of the weasel family often live in the same places for generations. Some of the old burrows are over a thousand years old. These are complex structures with various tunnels, entrances and exits. There are also several chambers with dry bedding for nests. And they are located at a depth of up to five meters.
Do badgers hibernate?
Around November-December, if the winter promises to be cold, the animal hibernates. But before that, the badger feeds heavily. Its weight can increase up to 35 kilograms. The badger is an omnivore, although it is classified as a predator. He eats insects, worms, frogs, small mouse-like rodents, mollusks, lizards, as well as mushrooms and berries, nuts and grass. When hunting, the badger bypasses vast territories, catching up to 50 frogs in one night, a large number of worms and insects (pupae, larvae). During the accumulation of fat, he can eat up to a kilogram of food per night.
Do badgers hibernate? He is the only one who does this from mustelids, and even then not every winter. In the northern areas, hibernation begins in November and continues until April. In the southern regions - especially if the winter is warm - the badger is active all year round and does not sleep. It has a remarkable ability of the body to accumulate subcutaneous fat. Sometimes a layer of fat can reach four or even five centimeters. The weight almost doubles. With the onset of cold weather, these animals dig in roomy burrows and leave the nest less and less often. Then they fill up the entrances with earth and dry leaves and fall asleep until spring.
Thus, the answer to the question: “Does a badger hibernate?” ambiguous. If the winter is warmer than usual, then this may not happen. And then the badger still leaves the hole in search of food. Just not as often as in autumn.
A little about the benefits of a badger
This animal is of great use in agriculture, eating various insect pests (among which is the notorious May beetle).
The badger has a very healing fat, which is used in the treatment of certain diseases, in particular tuberculosis.
Meat and fur are of no particular value. Sometimes the latter is used to produce artistic brushes and caps.
Hibernation
The badger is not the only mammal that hibernates. Many people think that animals sleep in winter to wait out the cold. But this is only partly true. Here cold-blooded, indeed, cannot maintain the desired body temperature with the onset of cold weather (after all, for an active existence, they need heat from outside). And as soon as the ambient temperature drops to a certain point, they hibernate.
Otherwise, with representatives of warm-blooded. If it depended only on the decrease in temperature, then polar bear would fall into hibernation in winter, but he does not do this, while remaining active. But the brown one also has the same amount of fat and a warm coat so as not to freeze. However, it sleeps in winter. Here, rather, the whole point is the temporary lack of food supply. In winter there is no vegetation, no frogs, no small birds and rodents, which these animals usually feed on. There are two options left: move to warmer climes or hibernate.
In winter, rodents also sleep: marmots, hamsters, ground squirrels, dormouse. By the way, by the way - sooner or later - the groundhog and badgers hibernated, people determine how severe the winter will be.
All animals, without exception, prefer rest, night or day, to active wakefulness. They especially like to fall into or catalepsy. In countries with a cold and temperate climate, the habitual pastime of animals is a six-month hibernation.
Hibernation is a hereditary reaction of living organisms to temperature changes, which was formed millions of years ago.
It was possible to survive these drops only by learning to regulate their own temperature when cold or hot came on. The life of an animal depended on the ability to sleep through a difficult time.
So nature took care of her creatures - this skill will come in handy if the climate on Earth changes again.
Hibernation is characterized by slowing down and metabolism in animals during periods when food is inaccessible, which means it is impossible to maintain activity and a high level of metabolism.
Preparing for hibernation
Preparing for a long sleep, animals accumulate nutrient reserves, their weight due to fat can increase by 40%, and also store food. Nutrition during the preparatory period is rich in fatty acids, which increase immunity and resistance to prolonged torpor.
Rodents are located for the winter in families or alone. The burrows they burrow can stretch inward for three meters or more. Stores of grains, nuts and seeds are arranged in them to maintain vitality.
Shelter (hollow, cave, burrow) is selected taking into account safety, protection from predators, and microclimate: the temperature of the shelter should be slightly above zero, even with severe frosts outside.
Animals according to the method of maintaining body temperature are divided into:
- endothermic saving at the expense internal resources thermoregulation. These include all warm-blooded organisms: mammals, birds.
- ectothermic, their temperature depends on environment. They include cold-blooded organisms (reptiles, amphibians, fish).
Types of hibernation by duration:
- per diem(at bats and hummingbirds).
This type of deep sleep can occur in any season, in both mammals and birds. Physiological processes are less slowed down than during seasonal hibernation. Body temperature usually drops to 18°C, in rare cases - below 10°C, metabolism is reduced by a third.
- Seasonal- winter (hibernation) or summer (estivation).
Winter (hibernation) hibernation is not a homogeneous state and is interrupted for short periods of "warming up" of the body: the body temperature briefly rises and energy exchange increases. Body temperature usually drops to 10°C and below. In long-tailed ground squirrels, it drops to 3°C. Metabolism is 5%, and sometimes slows down to 1% of the normal state.
- Irregular, in squirrels and raccoon dogs, upon the onset of adverse conditions suddenly.
By the way, a person can also suddenly fall into a stupor, but at the same time retain consciousness. This is how a severe mental disorder of motor function manifests itself.
why do animals fall
Hibernation
Winter is a difficult test for many animals. Migratory birds to get to warmer climes, overcome great distances. Animals that cannot leave cold climates adapt to the change of seasons in their own way: they sink into a dream-like state.
When the ambient temperature drops to five degrees Celsius, beetles and butterflies, toads and frogs, lizards and snakes, bears and hedgehogs go to bed. Infusoria, amoeba and algae, gathering in a large ball, wrap themselves in a protective shell.
Carp and carps burrow into the mud. Bats doze in caves for six months, hanging upside down.
Aestivation
Summer hibernation or diapause (temporary cessation of development, state of physiological dormancy) ensures the survival of organisms during dry periods of the year. Fish sleep, wrapped in silt at the bottom of dried-up reservoirs. Tortoises and rodents, deprived of food, fall asleep until winter, when swamps and plants dry up from the heat.
Some inhabitants of the tropics also tend to fall asleep for a long period: African hedgehogs sleep for about three months, and the insectivores of Madagascar for about four.
The hibernation record is broken by rodents. For nine months in a row, the sandstone gopher sleeps. Falling into summer hibernation at the end of July, the animal passes into winter without waking up.
Periodic awakenings.
Some animals wake up from the sleep state from time to time. Scientists do not know exactly the purpose and cause of this behavior. Awakening can last from several minutes in small organisms to several hours in large ones.
So many living organisms fall into hibernation that it is very difficult to list them all. Soviet zoologist N.I. Kalabukhov claimed that there are many more animals that are in a state of stupor in winter than those that are awake.
Physiology of hibernation
Body temperature. Sleeping animals are only a fraction of a degree warmer than the surrounding air. The body temperature of the dormouse drops from 38 degrees to 3.7 (ten times!). In some species, it can drop to zero and even to minus five degrees Celsius.
Dallium fish, a rare warm-blooded fish, falls asleep when the waters of Chukotka freeze through. If a dallium frozen in a piece of ice is put in warm water, then as soon as the ice melts, the fish will come to life. Due to the unique glycerin-like impregnation, ice crystals do not form in the tissues of dallium, which can break cell membranes.
The hypothermic state of all others is manageable. The regulators of the brain, led by the tireless hypothalamus (the part of the brain responsible for the constancy of the internal environment of the body), turn on fatty heating in time so that the body temperature does not fall below a critical level.
Metabolism during hibernation decreases in animals to 10-15% of the norm.
Breath in sleeping mammals it decreases by 40 times. In many species, it alternates: rapid superficial is replaced by apnea (lack of breathing) lasting more than an hour, which causes oxygen starvation.
gas exchange- decreases by 10 times. The hedgehog, curled up in a ball, takes a barely perceptible breath just once a minute.
brain activity is preserved only in the hippocampus, the department adjacent to the hypothalamus.
Heart slows down the frequency of contractions per minute to 5-10 beats, in a hedgehog it beats even at zero body temperature. This is surprising, because in animals that do not hibernate, the heart stops at a 15-degree body temperature.
Blood pressure decreases slightly, from 20% to 40%, since the viscosity of the blood increases due to a decrease in temperature. Due to the increased viscosity of the blood, the heart is better supplied with "brown fat", a source of energy.
Hormonal system before hibernation, it is rebuilt to a new rhythm: the animal accumulates fat, enzymes, vitamins, especially vitamin E, which inhibits metabolism. In summer, animals grow fat, increasing their weight by three times by autumn, and thin and weakened wake up in spring.
An interesting fact:
hibernation brown bear, squirrels and prairie dogs are not real - they fall into a state of superficial stupor. Their metabolism slows down a little, body temperature, pulse and breathing correspond to the level typical of normal sleep.
Most of them hide in their hiding places and support their existence on the food and fat reserves they have collected for the occasion.
The consciousness of a bear during hibernation does not turn off, it is easy to wake him up.
Pros and cons of hibernation
The undoubted pluses include a reduction in the energy consumption of the animal: it consumes only 15% of the energy that it would need to maintain normal temperature body in winter when awake.
Within 4-7 months they can exist due to the accumulated reserves of fat and other nutrients.
Disadvantages: the ability to die from desiccation or exhaustion, the development of atrophy of the musculature of the skeleton, a decrease in immunity, freezing is not excluded at extremely low temperatures, defenselessness against predators.
Research by scientists hibernation mechanisms have a practical purpose: the formula of chemicals that immerse animals in a long hibernation ioz, will allow to carry out surgical operations, cooling the human body to the required temperature.
Sources: A. Borbeli "The Secret of Sleep", "Three Thirds of Life" A.M. Wayne, ru.wikipedia.org, Collier's Encyclopedia (Open Society. 2000).
The following beautiful video is about birds that do not fall into hibernation in winter, but travel thousands of kilometers to get to warm countries:
Elena Valve for the Sleepy Cantata project
Fall in. To do this, they have been preparing their lair since autumn, choosing a safe place in natural ravines, small cozy caves or at the roots of huge trees. To protect themselves from the cold, they insulate their rookery with dry moss, leaves, grass and fluffy spruce branches.
In addition, bears eat a lot at the end of summer and autumn in order to store as much subcutaneous fat as possible by winter. Otherwise, in the middle of winter, this beast can be interrupted by a strong feeling of hunger, as a result of which an evil rod will stagger through the forest. A distinctive feature of bear hibernation is a slight decrease in body temperature. In addition, the bear is quite easy to get out of this state.
Hamsters, chipmunks and badgers sleep in winter, but their sleep is also quite sensitive. In addition, these animals wake up in the middle of winter to satisfy their hunger with the help of supplies prepared since autumn. And gophers can hibernate not only in winter, but also in summer. In the latter case, this is usually associated with a lack of food. Immersed in long winter dream and a raccoon.
Marmots hibernate for 4 to 6 months, depending on the climate of the region in which they live. During this time, they do not eat, but every three weeks they wake up for about 12-20 hours. Scientists explain this by the need to stabilize life processes. Nevertheless, groundhogs come out of hibernation quite well-fed.
But in hedgehogs, snakes and frogs, the body temperature decreases quite a lot during hibernation, and the metabolism slows down significantly. Hedgehogs arrange deep wintering holes in the ground, snakes - in the soil below the freezing zone, in deep cracks in rocks and under stumps. Frogs burrow into the mud or dive into the pond for the winter. Their body temperature becomes slightly lower than the environment, which allows them to survive for several winter months. In warm countries, frogs also fall into a seasonal state of suspended animation.
Hibernation is not just an adaptation of animals to severe trials. For many animals, this is the only chance to survive the winter and avoid starvation.
The bear is a real furry giant. He is very big and strong.
The bear loves to eat various cereals, rhizomes, nuts and berries. The bear loves to fish. For hours he is ready to stand motionless on the shore of a reservoir and wait for his prey. The bear is ready to endure many hundreds of bee stings in order to taste his favorite delicacy - honey.
But all this diversity in winter is practically non-existent. And our "predatory vegetarian" hibernates in winter.
Before falling into hibernation, the bear builds a lair for itself. Bears build their dwelling from branches and trunks. He tries to escape into the deaf thickets. But before falling into hibernation, the bear eats a lot of fat. Did you know that the bear does not sleep all winter? It happens in winter that the bear wakes up and goes out for a bit to wander, and then comes back and falls asleep again. In winter, bear cubs are born to a she-bear. And like any caring mother, the she-bear takes care of her babies.
What other animals hibernate?
chipmunk making full hole under a stock tree, falls asleep "without hind legs". You can pick him up and try to wake him up, but your attempts are useless. This "sleep" is not to be woken up.
A hedgehog that has gained fat prepares a cozy nest for itself in deep pits or minks. The hedgehog sleeps curled up in a ball in winter. But he doesn't fall asleep right away. At first, the hedgehog often wakes up, and then falls asleep again. Each of his dreams is getting longer and longer.
Bats long before the arrival of winter found a secluded cave or attic. And from time to time they wake up and fall asleep again. During periods of wakefulness the bats can look for food.
Wild animals not sleeping in winter.
Long before the onset of cold weather, animals grow warmer and thicker wool. Many of them create stocks of food and insulate their homes.
One of these thrifty animals is the squirrel. Even in warm weather, she made herself a house in a hollow or on a strong bough. The squirrel's dwelling is insulated with dry mosses, hay and leaves. The squirrel's house must have two entrances. For the winter, the rodent stocks a lot of nuts, acorns, cones and mushrooms.
The squirrel hides its supplies throughout the forest: under old stumps, in empty hollows and tree roots. The squirrel leaves the house only when it is necessary to pick up supplies from the cache.
Elk is a real giant. He needs a lot of food. In winter, moose can live alone or together. What do moose eat in winter? Moose love to eat the bark of young aspens, shoots of young pines. Moose have very strong and large teeth. When there are no young shoots in the area, the elks grind the rough bark of old trees with their teeth. Moose rest buried in the snow.
Large ungulates have a hard time in winter. But it is even more difficult for boars. If the winter is mild, without snow, then the wild boars get different roots and leaves. They can also eat rodents. In severe frosts or heavy snowfalls, wild boars often starve, become weak and defenseless against predators. For their salvation, wild boars gather in flocks and only go out at night in search of food.
Wolves are the most dangerous forest predators. Their coat becomes thick and long in winter. Such wool helps the wolf to endure the winter cold. And even in severe frosts, the wolf can sleep in the snow, covering its nose with a fluffy tail. As soon as it starts to get dark, the wolves come out to hunt. Wolves travel very long distances in search of food. Sometimes many tens of kilometers. They hunt animals of any size alone or in packs. The coordinated actions of the whole pack helps the wolves survive.
The true owner of the forest in winter is the fox. The red-haired cunning woman walks in a fur coat of the same color in winter and summer. Only the coat becomes dense with a thick undercoat. The fox walks on the snow without falling through, thanks to the paws covered with wool. Foxes live in burrows. But many cheats sleep right on the snow. They cover their nose with a large fluffy tail. The fox does not make supplies. So every day she goes hunting. Often foxes make their way to villages to steal poultry. Quite often the fox catches hares. But the main food of foxes in winter are mice.
For the winter, mice stock up on seeds and dry the berries. They are very voracious and every day they need a lot of food. In snowy winters, mice dig long passages in snowdrifts. Mice love to hide in haystacks and move into human barns and houses.
Beavers are hard workers. A friendly family builds its solid hut all autumn, felling aspens, willows and other trees. The entrance to the hut is always arranged under water. The enemy won't pick up. And the water is warmer than the air in winter.
In winter, the white hare changes its gray coat to a white one. In a brown hare, the color of the fur coat becomes only slightly lighter. In winter, the paw pads of hares are covered with wool. Therefore, the paws of hares do not freeze much. And also, therefore, hares can run away from predators on slippery ice. Unlike many other rodents, it does not store supplies. It feeds only on what it can find in winter: small twigs and young bark of willow, birch and aspen. A real delicacy for a hare is frozen berries. Therefore, in winter it is very difficult for him. During the day, hares hide from predators in burrows dug in snowdrifts. Hares come out to eat at night. They sleep in the snow.
Winter is the most difficult time of the year for animals. The life of animals in this harsh time is difficult and dangerous.
Pets
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02.09.15 14:39
Hibernation is the state of the animal's body, in which a number of vital processes slow down. This allows you to survive severe frosts, heat or a period of forced starvation. Many people know which animals hibernate, but not everyone knows the subtleties and features of this process, which are characteristic of certain families and even species. The benefits of hibernation are enjoyed by both warm-blooded animals and their cold-blooded counterparts. This phenomenon also happens among pets, it is worth familiarizing yourself with its nuances even before acquiring a new friend, so as not to panic with changes in his behavior.
What animals hibernate - representatives of the wild fauna
Shaggy giants have been preparing a den for themselves since autumn, using ravines, caves or roots of massive trees for this. They line it with dry grass, soft moss and spruce branches. From the end of summer, bears begin to eat intensively, depositing the resulting substances in the form of a subcutaneous fat layer. The state in which animals are immersed is more like a very deep sleep with a slight increase in body temperature. They keep full combat readiness, sensitive to stimuli, can wake up from hunger. After a short wandering through the forest, the connecting rod bear occupies a new lair.
Badgers, chipmunks, gophers, raccoons
These rodents are distinguished by a rather sensitive sleep. During the winter, they wake up several times to satisfy their hunger with the help of supplies. Gophers can "fall asleep" even in summer, suffering from a lack of food.
Winter hibernation of these animals can last up to six months. All this time they do not eat any food, despite the fact that once every three weeks they wake up for 12-18 hours to stabilize vital processes. Despite such a harsh regime, marmots come out of hibernation in a fairly well-fed and healthy condition.
Hedgehogs, snakes, frogs
They differ in that during the wintering period their metabolic processes slow down significantly, the temperature drops, their sleep is deep and it is difficult to disturb it. Hedgehogs prepare special holes for themselves, snakes climb into the soil below the level of freezing or cracks, frogs dive into a pond or burrow. Animals bring themselves to such a state that the ambient temperature even exceeds their own indicators. It is noteworthy that frogs that choose a pond for wintering do not need regular rises to the surface. They get oxygen from the water by absorbing it on the surface of their skin.
They survive the winter under the bark of trees or in summer minks, clogging the entrance with clods of earth and leaves. Wintering for them begins in early autumn, and the younger the individual, the later it hides.
What animals hibernate - amazing pets
It can fall into a state of hibernation with a sharp drop in temperature. In appearance, the animal will appear dead, but upon closer examination, it will be possible to detect the presence of slow breathing, the body will not stiffen, but will be soft, the paws and nose will be cold. To get the pet out of this state, you just need to warm it up.
While maintaining stable conditions, turtles do not change their usual rhythm of life. If the owner, for some reason, wants to put the animal into a state of sleep, then you will have to try hard. The pet will need to be fattened, checked by a veterinarian and made sure of excellent health, bathed. This is followed by a complex process of introduction to sleep. It will need to be controlled, it is equally important to correctly bring the turtle out of this state.
