How Do Animals Know When to hibernate?

When winter approaches, some animals go into a long sleep to survive the cold until better days return. But how do thay know when it’s time to hibernate? That’s the question answered by the evening edition in its daily podcast.

It’s a common misconception, but bears don’t actually hibernate-they overwinter. True hibernation mostly affects smaller animals, like rodents and cold-blooded creatures.

Read also: Stop breathing, become dehydrated… These craziest animal techniques to resist the cold

What’s the Difference Between Hibernation and Overwintering?

People often confuse the two, but it’s significant to understand the difference. Overwintering means an animal’s metabolism slows down, but it stays awake and alert.If danger appears, it can wake up and react quickly, as I’m interested explains. This strategy is common in warm-blooded animals like bears and beavers, who sometimes even change physically to prepare.

True hibernators, like marmots, fall into a deep, long sleep-almost like a coma. Their body temperature, heart rate, and oxygen use drop dramatically. They don’t eat or drink, living off fat they stored before winter. Waking up can take days, because everything slows down so much.

Read also: To face the cold, do you really need to eat more fat in winter? The response from nutritionists.