Each animal has their own form of torpor that best suits their lifestyle and needs. Hummingbirds, raccoons, skunks, and chickadees are just a handful of other animals that do! Animals typically enter torpor because of the low availability of food for a period of time. Come April, the bear will awaken and emerge from its den, searching for food to begin the preparation for its next torpor session.īears aren’t the only animals that go into torpor. A bear will typically lose 20 – 30% of its body weight during torpor, with some females loosing up to 40% if they had cubs and were nursing during torpor. These decreases are not as extreme as our woodchucks, but still help to conserve energy all winter long. Their heart rate decreases to 8 - 19 beats per minute, and their breathing rate is one breath every 45 seconds.
Mid-summer to the end of autumn a bear can consume up to 20,000 calories a day! Resulting in putting on 4 - 5 inches of body fat to help them survive a winter of cold weather and no eating.Ī bear’s normal body temperature is around 100☏, during torpor they will decrease it about 10-12☏ to around 88☏. In order to prepare for this, they must forage for food all summer long to pack on the pounds. While in torpor bears will not eat, drink, or go to the bathroom for months on end.
Ground squirrels and four species of bats join them in this category. Woodchucks are not the only mammals that are true hibernators in Minnesota. A woodchuck can eat up to 1 pound of vegetation in one sitting! Once they’re out and about for the warmer months, woodchucks will spend their days eating and fattening up - preparing for the next hibernation. After a few months of hibernation, the woodchucks will emerge in March or April, depending on their region – which is a bit late for Groundhog’s Day! Although, males will often wake in February to locate females, then head back to sleep for another month or so until it is time to mate. These extreme reductions help to conserve energy during their long sleep so they only loose about one fourth of their body weight during their months of not eating. They slow their heart rate from 75 - 80 beats per minute in warmer weather down to 4 or 5 beats per minute during hibernation, and their breathing rate slows dramatically. A woodchuck’s usual body temperature is around 99☏, during hibernation they drop their body temperature down to around 37 - 40☏, not much above freezing. Since they don’t eat during hibernation, woodchucks have to conserve their energy by slowing down bodily functions. Once they are asleep, they stay asleep and don’t eat or drink during their slumber. In September - October, woodchucks begin going into their winter dens for hibernation. An example of a true hibernator would be a woodchuck ( Marmota monax), also known as groundhog or whistle pig.
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