by 3 people |
The Big Sleep - Hibernation
But a few animals indulge in a complete change of life during winter. They include some rodents such as dormice, Prairie dogs, and marmots; bats; and insectivores such as hedgehogs. Some reptiles, toads and frogs also indulge in a form of hibernation. Other animals such as bears spend much of the winter sleeping, but in an incomplete form of hibernation. Most hibernating animals wake up if the weather turns warm, and look round for something to eat.
Hibernation is more than just a deep sleep. The hibernating animal's rate of breathing and its pulse speed both slow down, as in sleep but to a greater degree. But the body temperature also drops considerably-often to around 10°C (50°F).
In this condition the whole body metabolism is running in slow gear. The heart beats incredibly slowly, and the digestion is just ticking over. A hibernating animal starts the winter very fat, and this store of fat is drawn on to supply the body's needs during the long sleep. Some animals such as mice and squirrels make a cache of nuts and other food which they can draw on during the winter, and these animals do not sleep so long or so soundly as the true hibernators.
The animals that do best in hibernation are those that can curl up in a well-insulated nest, like the dormouse. For if the temperature around the animal falls too low, the stores of fat are burned up too quickly and the animal dies.
Looking for a place to hibernate
The Hibernation Diet
by Mike McInnes, Stuart McInnes, Maggie Stanfield
The Hibernation Diet
Amazon Price: (as of 01/03/2010)
While working with athletes, Mike McInnes discovered that eating fructose-rich foods such as honey helped to burn fat and increase stamina. He also found that the best time to burn fat is while sleeping. Eating honey before bed activates the body's natural recovery biology, which is fuelled by burning fat. These effects can be maximized by the accompanying 15 minute exercise program that is effective with only three sessions per week. Tested by professional athletes, this dream diet aims at creating a healthier lifestyle and increasing athletic ability rather than just losing weight.
Hibernation on Amazon
Coleman Hibernation Dog Sleeping Bag, Small
Same high quality construction as Coleman's bags f more...0 points
Coleman Hibernation Sleeping Bag Orange Plaid Medium Dog Bed (Medium 26'' x 34'')
The Coleman Hibernation Sleeping Bag Dog Bed can u more...0 points
Coleman Hibernation Dog Sleeping Bag, Large
The Coleman Hibernation Sleeping Bag Dog Bed can u more...0 points
Woodlink Coppertop Butterfly Hibernation Box - House
House butterflies in your garden with the Woodlink more...0 points
Mouse Pad with brown, bear, sleeping, bed, hibernation
Professional "Brite White" fabric mouse more...0 points
Hibernation (Patterns in Nature series) (Patterns in Nature) by Margaret Hall
Simple text and photographs introduce hibernation more...0 points
Animals Hibernating: How Animals Survive Extreme Conditions (Animal Behavior) by Pamela Hickman
In the eleventh and final title in the Animal Beha more...0 points
Record Hibernator
The edible dormouse (Gus gus) of Europe is the record hibernator. It spends about half the year in its winter sleep- though even this lethargic animal will wake up for a quick snack if the weather is mild.
Built-in hot water bottle
Brown fat is one of the secrets of hibernation. rhis substance contains many more droplets )f fat than the ordinary white fat found in ~nost mammals, so providing a much richer store for the animal to draw on.
All new-born animals-including human babies-have brown fat in their bodies.
Summer sleepers
Hot and very dry weather can also send some animals to sleep. They retreat into a sheltered spot in order to slumber through a drought, which could be as killing as a severe winter. Among the animals that go through this process of aestivation (summer sleep) are snails, and reptiles such as crocodiles and snakes. The African lungfish burrows in the mud of its dried up rivers and waits for the waters to flow again.
Hibernation photos
Updated daily
time to retire for t...
For Rent
Iced Over
Steal Away the Night
Clinging to Life
Morning Spirit
Revealing Herself
.|-|a|>|>y Fr0...
Hibernation
Buttercup
After a nightcap, it...
New Message
In Meditation of a C...
They lay in suspende...
Freedom with the Hib...
The wintering snail
Land snails (order Stylommatophora) have their own form of winter sleep in temperate or colder climates. Before the onset of winter the snail slows down (if that seems possible) and starts looking around for winter quarters. It buries itself in some sheltered spot, covered by moss or soil. Then it withdraws into its shell and shuts the door.The 'door' is a special cold-weather lid, known as the epiphragm, which the snail makes from a mixture of mucus, calcium carbonate, and phosphate. It secretes this mixture, similar to that which forms its shell, from part of the body called the mantle. The snail leaves a tiny gap to allow a minimum of oxygen to enter from the outer air, and so keep the body's functions ticking over. Inside the 'door' the snail hangs 'curtains' of thin, papery membranes, which trap the air and provide insulation against the cold outside- just like double-glazing a window. And there it stays for perhaps six months or more until spring returns.
Bumble bee survival
Among bumble-bees (genus Bombus) only the young queens survive the winter. The bumble-bee finds a dry, sheltered spot and goes into a state of suspended animation. This is a much deeper 'sleep' than hibernation-the insect is in a state as close to death as it can be, yet stay alive!
Hibernation links
- Hibernation
- Hibernation.
- The Hibernation Diet
- The Hibernation Diet official site
- What is Hibernation?
- What is hibernation?
Guestbook
-
Reply
- ladydarkness1313 ladydarkness1313 Mar 13, 2009 @ 9:38 pm
- Please Check Out Ursa Freedom Project
The Ursa Freedom Project commits to liberate 9,000 bears from bile farms in China/Viet Nam and to end a practice that is commercially unnecessary. We who gather for the sake of the Moon Bear affirm liberty and deplore the torture of any living being. This endangered species is subjected to the unconscionable practice of bile extraction for use by industries which can use higher quality synthetic replacements to bear bile. The products are largely non-essential, including wine, furniture polish and certain types of medicine for preventable diseases. And the Chinese government has turned a deaf ear to the pleas of those who have worked for decades to help these animals.
Return to Freedom
The Ursa Freedom Project commits to liberate farmed Moon Bears from the wretched crush cages and abject torture they experience daily - until they die. The abominable practice of bear bile farming should have never begun and must stop now. These beautiful creatures must be returned to freedom, to live in the state Nature intended for them - a life of up to 30 years to roam in their natural habitat and to eat mostly berries and foliage.
This is no small task, it will take the belief and coming together of a great many to support those who work toward the liberation of farmed bears, to their rehabilitation and release into the wild. The Ursa Freedom Project invites you to join with your loved ones, neighbors and local organisations to share in a unique and uplifting campaign.
We aim to dismantle the bile farm industry. Please explore our website to learn how many small steps can bring these bears to freedom. We thank you for joining us.
Together, we can make a world of change.
http://ursafreedomproject.ning.com/
-
Reply
- MindGuru MindGuru Jan 5, 2009 @ 11:42 pm
- Very interesting lens--I'd forgotten about aestivation. I recently read that scientists in Boston (Boston U?) were figuring out ways to interconvert brown (the type used in hibernation) and white fat (the kind we adult humans have). If so, we'll burning our fat much faster and getting into great shape. One can hope!
-
Reply
- Euryale Euryale Sep 1, 2008 @ 7:13 pm
- Congratulations! Your lens has been selected as a Best of Squidoo Pick for September 2008!
http://www.squidoo.com/bestofsquidoo
Explore related pages
Woodchucks Under the Porch- Woodchucks chuck wood and Groundhogs determine the coming of spring. They eat yo...
Sharanam Shah - An Indian Technical Author- Sharanam Shah is a Technical Author of a reputed Software Development house in M...
seo- I have my own website which will give updates about the java latest technology a...
