Why do animals hibernate in winter? Design and research work “Hibernation in animals. Hedgehog - walks for days

Actually, hibernation or hibernation is the genetic adaptation of the body to temperature changes. This condition is characterized by a slowdown in all vital processes, metabolism, pulse, and breathing. Hibernation is preceded by quite a long and serious preparation. So, they go to bed for the winter:

1. Marmot. The expression “sleeping like a woodchuck” was invented for a reason. It clearly expresses the characteristics of these animals, capable of sleeping for up to 9 months a year. Marmots are active and mobile animals, but before hibernating they eat a lot and walk little. Having sealed the entrance to the “bedroom”, the family goes to bed with a sense of accomplishment. Heartbeat animals drops to 3-5 beats per minute, and body temperature can generally drop to zero.
2. Bear. This, naturally, is an unsurpassed record holder in the animal world for sleeping. On winter holidays only three of them leave existing species– brown, Himalayan and black. Their sleep is rather superficial and sensitive. Body temperature remains virtually unchanged, like all life processes. A bear awakened prematurely is very angry, aggressive and dangerous. The connecting rod can wander through the forest until spring, wastefully using up previously accumulated fat reserves.
3. Hedgehog. The main food of spiny stompers is insects. And with them in the winter, for obvious reasons, it’s tense. Therefore, hedgehogs have to go to bed in the fall, having previously accumulated fat, and in their sleep wait for the arrival of spring.
4. Gopher. Like marmots, they are able to spend up to 9 months of the year sleeping. For the winter, gophers carefully block the entrance to the hole with earth, leaving a small branch that almost reaches the surface of the earth to ensure safety. After awakening, they experience a short period of vigorous activity.
5. Badger. As in the case of bears, the sleep of these minke whales is sensitive and is not accompanied by a slowdown in the main life processes in the body. Before hibernation, badgers accumulate a significant fat reserve and gain almost twice their normal weight. When snow cover becomes permanent, they stop leaving the burrow. They get to the surface only when the temperature becomes positive.
6. Hamster. They are capable of falling into a kind of stupor if the air temperature drops below +10 degrees. But this state cannot be called full-fledged hibernation, since while life processes slow down, relative activity remains. In this form, hamsters can spend several hours, devoting the rest of the time to searching for food.
7. The bats. Not all representatives of bats hibernate for the winter. This is determined by the climate and the specifics of the habitat. If the temperature drops below zero in winter, then the bats they look for caves or other secluded places to sleep, or migrate to more comfortable living conditions. Mice sleep, wrapped in their wings, for up to 7 months a year. IN very coldy, unfortunately, they can even die in their sleep, since the body temperature drops to 10 degrees compared to the usual 40 in the active state.
8. Echidna. The native Australian does not tolerate both cold and heat equally well, since the animal does not have sweat glands, and the body temperature is approximately 30 degrees. In severe cold weather, they can hibernate for up to 4 months.

How do animals winter in the forest? It is very difficult for animals in winter. A significant reduction in food and severe frosts mean that not all animals manage to survive this time. But many of them also give birth to cubs during this difficult time.

Animals adapt to unfavorable conditions life in winter is different. There are those in whom all processes in the body decrease, and they hibernate.

What is hibernation?

Hibernation or winter sleep is special shape adaptations of animals to seasonal changes conditions of existence. That is, it is cold and hungry, and the animal hibernates. During hibernation, body temperature decreases, breathing and heart rate slow down, as well as other physiological processes. This is a period of sharp decrease in metabolic rate. The animal falls into a stupor.

Winter sleep is somewhat different from hibernation. Inhibition of all body functions occurs less intensely; during the winter the animal does not lose the ability to wake up.

Winter sleep or hibernation helps animals survive the unfavorable period of the year. Animals prepare for hibernation in advance. They feed intensively in the summer and become overgrown with fat. Fat reserves are usually around 40% of weight. With the onset of cold weather, the animal looks for a warm shelter and falls asleep in it.

What animals hibernate?

IN middle lane In Russia, animals that hibernate or hibernate are: chipmunks, badgers, gophers, hamsters, raccoons, hedgehogs, . All animals undergo hibernation in their own way. Let's see how various animals spend the winter.

Hedgehogs in winter

Hedgehogs begin to prepare for winter in the summer. The hedgehog is an omnivorous animal. Its diet includes caterpillars, slugs, and rain slugs. Hedgehogs happily eat berries, fallen fruits, and small eggs. In winter, it is impossible to find hedgehogs’ favorite food. But nutrients can accumulate in the body. An indispensable condition for the survival of hedgehogs is the accumulation of a layer of fat over the summer, due to which he lives in the winter. Fat accumulation occurs both under the skin and in internal organs animal.

At the beginning of autumn, hedgehogs look for a deep hole, at least one and a half meters deep, otherwise they may simply freeze and not survive in cold winter with severe frosts. A mistake in choosing a place for hibernation can be fatal and result in the death of the hedgehog. The hole is insulated with dry leaves and moss. In the fall, the hedgehog molts and grows hair that corresponds to winter conditions. The period of hibernation begins for the hedgehog with the onset of the first winter frosts in October. They clog the hole and hibernate.

Hedgehog in hibernation

During hibernation, body temperature drops to +2 degrees. If during active summer time a hedgehog's pulse rate is 180 beats per minute, then during winter hibernation the hedgehog's beat rate drops to 20-50 beats and only one breath is taken per minute.

Researchers have found that a hedgehog's hibernation can last up to 240 days, while this animal in an active state will not live even 10 days without food.

The hedgehog sleeps curled up in a ball, with its paws and nose pressed to its stomach and its head in contact with its tail. This position allows for maximum heat retention.

A hedgehog loses up to half its weight during hibernation. It is interesting that in captivity, where the hedgehog is provided with food all year round, it still hibernates.

With the onset of spring, hedgehogs wake up and quickly adapt to their normal lifestyle.

Bears in winter

The bear also begins to prepare for winter in the summer. The most important thing is to store nutrients for the winter in the form of fat deposits. Bears eat sweet berries, small ones, roots, etc. By winter, the bear gains subcutaneous fat. In some places its thickness reaches eight centimeters.

Already from mid-summer, bears begin to equip their existing den or re-arrange it, finding the most suitable place.

Bear's den

A bear always sets up a den in hard-to-reach places, deep in the forest, where it will be quite difficult for a person to pass through. It often happens that the place most suitable for winter shelter attracts more than one bear, and therefore several dens can be observed in a given area. If an animal has already taken a fancy to and chosen a certain place for a den, then it will certainly return here year after year, even if this place is hundreds of kilometers away from its usual habitat.

In regions with mild winters, the bear most often builds an aerial den. A riding den is a well-arranged bed with a bedding of branches. coniferous trees or rotten wood. Sometimes a bear tries to camouflage its shelter with the help of young broken trees.

Where winters are colder, animals choose a more substantial option for winter housing. These are semi-ground and soil dens. For the device, the first hole is made in the ground. The bottom is covered with branches, etc., and turf is pulled on top. A ground den is a short hole ending in a chamber. The entrance to such a den is called a brow.

Before laying down for the winter, the bear stops eating and emptys its intestines. For the next six months he does not eat anything, does not urinate or defecate.

The bear lies down alone in the den, while the she-bear sometimes goes with last year’s cubs, and always lies in front of them. In the den, all the bears curl up in a ball, resting their muzzle on their chest and crossing their paws in front of their muzzle; hence the incorrect belief that bears suck their paws in winter. Since the animals lie with their heads towards the exit hole, their breath causes the dens, as well as nearby trees and bushes, to become covered with yellowish frost, which is visible from afar in open areas and often gives the animal away to hunters. An interesting fact is that there are no animal tracks near the den, since, fearing a bear, the animals avoid the place that is dangerous for them.

In different areas, the winter sleep of bears lasts from 75 to 195 days; animals are in dens from October - November to March - April, that is, 5-6 months. Female bears with cubs live in dens the longest, old males live the least. Bears do not hibernate at all in the south of their range, where winters have little snow.

Hibernation of bears

If a hedgehog falls into a deep stupor during hibernation, and its body temperature is slightly different from the temperature environment, then the bear’s winter sleep is not so deep. His body temperature drops by about 5 degrees and fluctuates between 29 and 34 degrees. The metabolic process slows down, the heart rate decreases to 10 per minute. During sleep, the bear's body begins to burn fat. Enzymes break down fatty tissues, supplying the body with the necessary calories and water. And even if the processes in the body are slowed down, a certain amount of waste is generated as a result of metabolism. During bear hibernation, instead of removing waste, the body processes it.

From the kidneys and Bladder urea is reabsorbed into the blood and transported circulatory system into the intestines, where it is hydrolyzed by bacteria into ammonia. This ammonia goes back to the liver, where it participates in the formation of new amino acids that form the basis of proteins. The bear's body feeds itself during a long period of hibernation, converting waste products into Construction Materials. During the wintering period, the bear loses up to 80 kg of fat.

Almost every day the bear raises its head and turns over from side to side. The animal wakes up in case of danger and leaves the den, going in search of a new one. Sometimes during the summer and autumn the bear does not have time to fatten up properly, so it wakes up in the middle of winter and begins to wander in search of food; such bears are called connecting rods. Such bears have very little chance of surviving until spring. The connecting rods are very dangerous, hunger makes them merciless predators - they attack anyone who crosses their path, even humans.

Previously, people hunted bears sleeping in dens. Hunters on skis found a den, surrounded it, woke up the bear and killed it. Currently, winter bear hunting is considered a cruel activity, and it is prohibited almost throughout Europe.

In the middle of winter, in the den of the bear, what happens is an important event. Bears mate in the summer, but the fertilized cells inside the expectant mother's body do not begin to develop until November, when the mother bear goes into hibernation. Cubs are born in the den in January-February, most often in the first half of January. The she-bear brings 2-3 (maximum up to 5) cubs about 23 cm long and weighing 500-600 g, blind, with an overgrown ear canal, covered with short sparse hair. On day 14, their ear canals open; in a month they begin to see clearly. The she-bear feeds the cubs with nutritious milk, this depletes her already weakened vitality. The cubs grow quickly, by spring they become fluffy and already weigh about five kilograms.

At the end of the month, male bears emerge from their dens. But the bears remain in their winter home for several more weeks. After long hibernation All that remains of a well-fed bear is skin and bones. Usually, after waking up, bears begin to eat only after two or three weeks, since the body does not immediately get used to the new conditions. But then they develop a remarkable appetite.

Animals that spend the winter in an active state

Animals that spend the winter in an active state are covered with long and thick hair. The color of the fur also changes. In order to be invisible in the snow, the fur of many animals turns white. For example, the ermine and weasel turn white in winter, while only the tip of the ermine's tail remains black. In winter, they move deftly under the snow, attacking black grouse and wood grouse in the snowdrifts.

Hare in winter

Before the start of winter, they also shed. He gets a white fluffy coat, which makes him invisible in the snow. The fur becomes longer and thicker, which saves the animal from severe frosts. For ease of movement on snow and ice, the animal’s paw pads are also covered with fur, which makes its feet wide and allows it to move easily even on loose snow without falling through. The hare's toe pads secrete sweat profusely, which prevents snow from sticking.

The hare arranges roosts in winter. This is a secluded place where he spends the entire daylight hours. Usually hares lie under some kind of shelter - a bush, a snow cover, in a hole, or a ravine. The animal is covered with snow during snowfall or drifting snow, and it becomes hardly noticeable. The hare is most protected in such weather: he himself is not visible, and the tracks have disappeared under the snow. At dusk, the animal comes out to feed, as the hare feels safer at this time of day. Animals feed on branches and bark of deciduous trees and shrubs, dried grass, and frozen berries.

Between the den and the feeding area, clear tracks of a hare can be seen in the fresh snow. They are used by predatory animals and hunters to track the hare. However, the animals take measures to make it not so easy to track them. They confuse their tracks. To do this, hares zigzag, make large jumps to the side, and pass over the same place several times.

Sometimes I also want to fall asleep for a long time, but, unfortunately, this is not given to a person. The maximum I can sleep is fifteen hours, probably. Rarely can a person sleep even for a day (as specialists at sleep centers say), although no one has recorded the maximum duration of sleep. But animals can sleep for a couple of months, but first things first.

The Bears

These animals are classified as super predators. For example, Brown bear can weigh up to 600 kilograms. This “colossus” needs a lot of food. And, of course, before they hibernate, bears eat up their fat.

So, every autumn, bears that live in temperate and polar latitudes begin active preparations for hibernation. They not only try to eat more, but also look for shelter for the winter.

In some cases, bears can sleep for six months. It is surprising that some female bears can even give birth during hibernation.

Of course, at this time the bears' metabolism decreases and their heart rate slows down. For example, black representatives of the genus can slow it down to nine beats per minute.

Those bears that come out of hibernation before the allotted time are usually called “connecting rods”.

Frog

Yes, this reptile also goes into hibernation in winter. And before this period, they also actively gain weight by eating heavily.

Of course, there are many types of frogs. Each species prepares for hibernation in different ways, and they fall asleep in different time of the year.

For example, frogs that live in lakes fall asleep as soon as the air temperature drops. The overwhelming majority of frogs spend the winter in wooded areas.

What other animals can hibernate?

Five animals that hibernate:

1. raccoons;
2. badgers;
3. jerboas;
4. hamsters;
5. chipmunks.

I’ll tell you a little more about hamsters. Their version of hibernation, of course, is more “light” than that of bears. This can not even be called hibernation, but numbness. In winter, the body of this animal switches to a very economical mode. His body temperature drops sharply, and he simply does not react to anything.

They fall in. To do this, they prepare a den for themselves in the fall, choosing a safe place in natural ravines, small cozy caves or at the roots 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 as possible for winter. subcutaneous fat. Otherwise, in the middle of winter this beast may be aborted strong feeling hunger, as a result of which an evil connecting rod will wander through the forest. Distinctive feature bear hibernation consists of 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 light. In addition, these animals wake up in the middle of winter to satisfy their hunger with the help of supplies prepared in the fall. And gophers can hibernate not only in winter, but also in summer. In the latter case, this is usually due to lack of food. The striped raccoon also plunges into a long winter sleep.

In marmots, hibernation lasts from 4 to 6 months, depending on the climate of the region in which they live. During this time they do not feed, but wake up every three weeks for approximately 12-20 hours. Scientists explain this by the need to stabilize life processes. Nevertheless, marmots emerge from hibernation quite well-fed.

But in hedgehogs, snakes and frogs, the body temperature drops quite significantly during hibernation, and the metabolism slows down significantly. Hedgehogs make deep wintering burrows in the ground, snakes - in the soil below the freezing zone, in deep cracks in rocks and under stumps. For the winter, frogs bury themselves in mud or dive into a pond. Their body temperature becomes slightly lower than the environment, which allows them to survive for several winter months. IN warm countries frogs also enter a seasonal state of suspended animation.

Hibernation.

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 large and strong.
The bear loves to eat various grains, rhizomes, nuts and berries. The bear loves to catch 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 its favorite delicacy - honey.
But all this diversity is practically absent in winter. And our “carnivorous vegetarian” hibernates in winter.
Before hibernating, the bear builds a den for itself. Bears build their homes from branches and trunks. Tries to go into the wilderness. But before hibernating, the bear eats a lot of fat. Did you know that a bear does not sleep all winter? Sometimes in winter a bear wakes up and goes out to wander a little, and then returns and falls asleep again. In winter, a mother bear gives birth to cubs. And like any caring mother, the bear takes care of her babies.

What other animals hibernate?
The chipmunk, having made a full hole under the supply tree, falls asleep “without its hind legs.” You can pick him up and try to wake him up, but your attempts are useless. This “sleepyhead” cannot be awakened.

An overweight hedgehog cooks for himself cozy nest in deep holes or burrows. A hedgehog sleeps curled up into a ball in winter. Only he doesn’t fall asleep right away. At first, the hedgehog often wakes up, and then falls asleep again. Each of his dreams becomes longer and longer.

Long before the arrival of winter, bats found themselves a secluded cave or attic. And from time to time they wake up and fall asleep again. During periods of wakefulness, bats can look for food.

Wild animals that do not sleep in winter.

Long before the onset of cold weather, animals grow warmer and thicker fur. Many of them are stockpiling food and insulating 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 branch. The squirrel's home is insulated with dry mosses, hay and leaves. A squirrel's house must have two entrances. The rodent stores a lot of nuts, acorns, cones and mushrooms for the winter.

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 its hiding place.

The moose 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 aspen trees and the shoots of young pine trees. Moose have very strong and large teeth. When there are no young shoots in the area, moose also grind the rough bark of old trees with their teeth. Elks are resting buried in the snow.
Large ungulates have a hard time in winter. But it’s even more difficult for wild boars. If the winter is mild, without snow, then wild boars take out various roots and leaves. They can also eat a rodent. In severe frosts or heavy snowfalls, wild boars often go hungry, become weak and defenseless against predators. To save themselves, wild boars gather in packs and only go out at night in search of food.
Wolves are the most dangerous forest predators. Their fur becomes thick and long in winter. This coat helps the wolf withstand the winter cold. And even in severe frosts, a wolf can sleep in the snow, covering its nose with its fluffy tail. As soon as it starts to get dark, the wolves go hunting. Wolves travel very long distances in search of food. Sometimes many tens of kilometers. They hunt animals of any size alone or in a pack. The coordinated actions of the entire pack helps the wolves survive.

The true owner of the forest in winter is the fox. The red-haired sly one wears a fur coat of the same color in winter and summer. Only the coat becomes thick with a thick undercoat. The fox walks in the snow without falling through, thanks to its fur-covered paws. Foxes live in burrows. But many cheats sleep right in the snow. They cover their nose with a large fluffy tail. The fox does not store supplies. That's why she goes hunting every day. Often foxes make their way to villages to steal poultry. Quite often the fox catches hares. But the main food of foxes in winter is mice.
For the winter, mice stock up on seeds and dry berries. They are very voracious and need a lot of food every day. IN snowy winters mice dig long passages in the snowdrifts. Mice love to hide in haystacks and move into barns and human houses.

Beavers are hard workers. Friendly family All autumn he builds his strong hut, felling aspen, willow and other trees. The entrance to the hut is always underwater. The enemy won't get close. And water in winter is warmer than air

In winter, the hare changes its gray coat to white. The color of the brown hare's coat becomes only a little lighter. In winter, the pads of hares' paws are covered with hair. That's why rabbits' paws don't get too cold. This is also why 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 dark time days. They sleep in the snow.
Winter is the best hard time year for animals. The life of animals in this harsh time is difficult and dangerous.