Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression in animals, characterized by lower body temperature, slower breathing, and lower metabolic rate. Hibernation is an adaptation that allows animals to conserve energy during times when food is scarce or the environment is too cold or dry to support their usual activities. It is usually triggered by environmental or physiological cues, such as cooler temperatures and shorter days. Many animals that hibernate also experience torpor, a brief interruption of hibernation due to changes in temperature or food availability.
what is hibernation in humans?
Hibernation is a state of inactivity and metabolic depression in endotherms. It is a seasonally polyphasic or monophasic adaptive strategy in which endotherms lower their metabolic rate during winter conditions and enter a physiological state of suspended animation in order to survive for a long period of time without sustenance. In humans, hibernation is primarily used in medicine as a way to temporarily induce a state of decreased metabolic activity for medical procedures such as surgery, to protect the body from extreme cold and starvation, or to hibernate through an otherwise lethal illness.
What is hibernation in animals?
Hibernation is a deep sleep that some animals enter during the winter. During hibernation, animals naturally slow their metabolism and reduce their body temperature, heart rate, and respiration in order to conserve energy and survive the cold temperatures and scarce food that can be found during winter months.
Hibernation examples
1. Bears: The most iconic example of hibernation is the hibernation of bears during the long, cold winter months in many parts of the world. While in a deep sleep, their heart rate drops by 50%, and their breathing slows drastically.
2. Rodents: Many species of rodents, such as squirrels and hamsters, enter a state of hibernation in the winter in order to conserve energy. As temperatures drop, their metabolism decreases, and they become semi-dormant, rousing from their sleep randomly throughout the winter months.
3. Butterflies: Many species of butterflies, such as the Monarchs, enter a state of hibernation during the winter season. This is called diapause, and it allows them to avoid extreme weather conditions and survive until spring.
4. Bats: Bats enter a state of torpor in order to conserve energy during the winter season. While still awake, they experience a drastic decrease in metabolism, body temperature, and heart rate.
5. Frogs: Some species of frogs enter a state of hibernation in order to survive the winter months. They burrow underwater and remain dormant until the warmer weather allows them to resurface.
Animals that hibernate in summer
Hibernation occurs mainly in the winter months, but some animals do hibernate during the summer, including bears, ground squirrels, bats and some species of wasps.
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