How Do Animals Survive In Hibernation?
This is one of the questions many people ask themselves: How do animals survive in hibernation? Well, today we will reveal this secret.
What is hibernation?
Hibernation is a process of hibernation in which the animal’s body undergoes a series of changes including a decrease in body temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate and even slowing of metabolism. The pulsations are estimated to decrease from 200 per minute to about 4-6 per minute.
This way, animals don’t need to feed and drink like when the body is working 100%. However, the organism continues to function, because the animal is still alive, so it is assumed that there are a number of nutrients in the circulation. How do animals survive during hibernation?
How do animals survive hibernating without eating?
During the fall months, hibernating animals eat high-fat foods, which allow them to keep vital signs active. In the case of bears, the body temperature does not drop more than a few degrees, because the accumulated fat reserves to stay dormant allow them to maintain body heat.
When the temperature and pulse are lowered, blood flow and the amount of oxygen reaching vital organs also decrease. Bears are believed to have some sort of system in their plasma that decreases the need for oxygen, so they survive hibernating. Apparently, the secret of the bear’s hibernation lies in its blood.
Then there is a stagnation in the chambers of the heart which, although in any normal circumstance it would cause a dilation of the walls, in the case of the bear the left ventricle becomes rigid to avoid it.
Another question that may arise is: how do muscles not atrophy? Again, nature has an answer. Apparently, animals that hibernate have a hormone in their parathyroid glands that allows their limbs to stay fit even during hibernation.
How do animals survive hibernating without drinking?
The hibernation process raises many doubts, and another of them is: how do animals survive hibernating without drinking? In fact, reserve fat allows animals to go without food for several months, but how do they go without drinking? Well, fat is also decisive in this aspect.
The oxidation of fatty acids produces the calories that allow the animal to survive, but also glycerol water, thanks to which hibernating animals do not need to drink.
Fat is critical for hibernating animals. Although, of course, this does not mean that there is noticeable weight loss: to be exact, they lose 15% to 40% of their body mass.
Obviously, although this is the most determining factor, we must think that during hibernation there is also a lower need for water consumption, as there is a low heart rate and lack of sweating.
This is nothing new, since many marine animals have been doing this since they were born: they get H2O from body fat instead of drinking salt water.
Therefore, hibernation is an incredible and wonderful process created by the intelligence of mother nature that does not neglect any detail, in short, a real masterpiece.
The body of animals, like ours, seems to be prepared for every circumstance, and hibernation without a shadow of a doubt is a demonstration of this. Now that you have discovered how animals survive in hibernation, what do you think?
