With days starting to get longer and warmer, many creatures are emerging from their winter sleep, ready to find food and restart their normal activities. Photo by Twan Leenders

Winter is fading away and spring is beginning to take hold. You’ll notice the first flowers poking out of the ground and trees starting to bud. Also, many animals who spent the cold months in hibernation are finally waking up. Hibernation is a survival strategy that allows certain species to endure harsh winters by slowing their body functions. Animals like squirrels, bears, and frogs enter a state of deep sleep or torpor to conserve energy when food is scarce and temperatures drop. Now that the days are getting longer and warmer, these creatures are emerging from their winter sleep, ready to find food and restart their normal activities.

SQUIRRELS: RESTLESS

SLEEPERS

Unlike some animals that enter deep hibernation, squirrels experience a lighter form of winter dormancy. Tree squirrels, such as gray squirrels, do not hibernate at all but instead rely on stored food and their thick fur to survive the winter. However, ground squirrels, like our chipmunks, enter a true hibernation state. During this time, their body temperature drops dramatically, and their heart rate slows to just a few beats per minute.

As spring arrives, chipmunks awaken and emerge from their burrows. Their first priority is usually food since they have lost a lot of weight during hibernation. They also begin searching for mates, as spring is an important breeding season for them. Gray squirrels on the other hand, become more active as food sources, such as nuts and berries, become more abundant.

BEARS: THE FAMOUS

HIBERNATORS

Bears are often the first animals people think of when discussing hibernation. However, their hibernation is different from that of smaller animals. Instead of experiencing a full shutdown of body functions, bears enter a state of torpor. During torpor, a bear’s body temperature only drops slightly, and it can wake up if necessary.

Bears spend months in their dens without eating, drinking, or even going to the bathroom. They survive by living off the fat they built up in the fall. When they wake up in the spring, they are hungry and often start searching for food immediately. Many bears will eat grass, berries, fish, or small mammals as they regain their strength.

For female bears, spring is an especially important time. Many give birth during hibernation and emerge with tiny cubs that have been nursing throughout the winter. These young bears are now strong enough to explore the outside world under the watchful eye of their mother.

FROGS: FROZEN SURVIVORS

Frogs have one of the most incredible hibernation abilities in the animal kingdom. Many species, like wood frogs, survive the winter by literally freezing solid. Their bodies produce a special anti-freeze-like chemical that prevents ice from damaging their organs, allowing them to survive being frozen for months.

As temperatures rise in the spring, these frogs thaw out and return to normal life. They head toward ponds and wetlands to breed, filling the air with their loud calls. Frogs are crucial to ecosystems because they help control insect populations and serve as food for many predators.

A NEW SEASON BEGINS

As hibernating animals wake up, they play a key role in restoring balance to nature. Squirrels return to their busy lives, bears venture out in search of food, and frogs fill wetlands with their croaks. Spring marks a time of renewal and energy, reminding us that life always finds a way to thrive after the long winter sleep. Now if it would only stop snowing . . .

Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy is a not-for-profit organization with a mission to preserve and enhance the quality, scenic beauty, and ecological health of the Chautauqua region’s lands and waters for our community. For more information, visit chautauquawatershed.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.