1. STOP! Your pet may not be dead!
Before you go and bury your furry friend, make sure he isn’t just hibernating! Small hibernators like hamsters and squirrels enter states of torpor, periods of inactivity, that may extend over days. Other animals rely on circannual rhythms to determine when it is time to hibernate.
2. Hibernation is a season.
The seasonal change in the daily pattern of light and dark is a major signal for circannual rhythms. Hibernation is seasonally linked, meaning it depends on the climate. However, it also depends on body fat. Bet you would have never thought of fat being a good thing, huh?
3. Animals meal prep just like humans.
To start, we have to understand pre-hibernation. Animals store food to prepare for hibernation season in one of two ways: (1) the animal stores nonperishable food in its den or (2) eats a large amount of food to build up a reserve of internal fat.
4. F is for FAT! Fat and energy…
Internal body fat is essential for the hibernation process. When animals reach their minimum body temperature, they begin to burn their fat reserves and release energy. This energy is necessary to maintain the minimal levels of body function animals experience throughout the hibernation season. Something about brown fat
5. Diets aren’t only for weight loss.
It is very important that animals eat a diet rich in unsaturated fatty acids (they are essential after all!) so that they wake up less frequently from hibernation, which increases their likelihood of survival! (low temperature requires burning fat specifically -- we’ll get to why)
6. Unsaturated Fatty Acids are good for humans too.
They are not only healthy for hibernating animals, but also for human diets! They can lower bad cholesterol, improve insulin sensitivity, reduce heart disease, improve mood and bone health, and even reduce the risk of cancer. They can be found in foods like salmon, olive oil, avocados, and most nuts!
7. Brown fat is the best fat!
Shivering is what normally produces body heat. But during hibernation animals have a cool trick where they use brown fat to stay warm! The body fat you’re used to thinking about is WHITE, which is bad at producing heat. Brown fat has way more mitochondria -- which allow these cells to produce crazy heat using a special protein called the uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1).
8. The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.
Mitochondria are organelles that convert glucose and oxygen into an energy source called ATP. During hibernation, mitochondrial respiration is suppressed and the animal’s metabolism slows down to cope with the changing temperatures. You can read more about the mitochondria here: https://www.buzzfeed.com/kellyoakes/the-mitochondria-is-the-powerhouse-of-the-cell
9. Thermogen-o-WHAT?!?!?
Mitochondria provide thermogenesis! It is the process of heat production, which all warm blooded animals take part in. Brown fat is crucial to thermogenesis and heat production during hibernation. We experience thermogenesis through shivering when we are cold, which turns the chemical energy of the body into kinetic energy and ultimately transfers as heat to keep us warm.
10. OK, it’s time to hibernate...what happens now?
A hibernating animal’s heart rate can drop to as little as 2.5% its usual rate. Its breathing rate drops from 50-100% (yes, they can literally stop breathing!). Animals use so much energy trying to warm themselves, that if they’re awoken from their torpor, it would be difficult to re-enter a hibernation that would last until spring.
11. I hate to be the *bearer* of bad news...
Hibernation is a very important part of survival for some animals during the cold winter months. Grizzly bears often even get pregnant in preparation for hibernation, so they can give birth and start raising their young during this time. Since hibernation is a climate dependent process, the increasing climate change is confusing these animals when entering and leaving climate change. They can’t go back to hibernation once they are awake, so essentially this is causing the cold temperatures to kill them. They’re doing the best they can!
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