For example, chipmunks can reduce their heartbeat from 350 beats per minute to a measly 4 beats per minute during hibernation. True hibernators are able to drastically reduce their heart rate and body temperature when they sleep. Many other animals, including bats, ground squirrels, mouse lemurs, snakes, and marsupials have a winter-long sleep style known as “true hibernation”. What other animals sleep through the winter? This layer of bedding helps keep the bear warm during the cold winter. ![]() After digging or locating a den, bears will line their winter bed with bedding material, usually consisting of leaves and branches. While some bears build their dens months before hibernation season, others choose to excavate their dens at the last minute. A den can be built in 3–7 days, however, the timing of den building varies from bear to bear. Pregnant female bears can also wake up from torpor to give birth, then go back to sleep afterwards!īears sleep in dens that they make themselves, as well as in hollow trees, caves and dens built by other bears. The main difference between hibernation and torpor is that during torpor, the animal is able to wake up easily if hurt or threatened by predators. The urea produced by their fat metabolism is broken down and the nitrogen is re-used by the bear to rebuild protein. Bears can sleep more than 100 days without eating, drinking, or passing waste! Instead, bears are able to literally turn their pee into protein through a urea recycling process. During torpor, heart rate and breathing rate decreases, body temperature reduces slightly and bears do not eat or release bodily waste. Instead of hibernating, bears fall into a deep sleep called torpor. ![]() While many people think bears are hibernators, they actually participate in a similar, though not exact, practice. It is advantageous because these animals can quite literally shut themselves off for weeks at a time rather than try and survive through harsh weather conditions. Animals do this to survive the winter because the weather is cold and food is scarce. During hibernation, the animal’s body temperature, heart rate and breathing rate all drop to significantly lower levels. Hibernation, by definition, is when animals “sleep” through the winter season. Well, maybe we should have been born as bears. Bears are the most notorious animals for taking season-long snoozes every winter, but a surprising number of animals also have some interesting winter slumber styles, too. This article was published in 2016 and may not reflect the latest scientific research on hibernation in bears.Įver feel like postponing life until spring by indulging in a really long winter’s nap? Me too.
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