AllTop Viral!

By Adelle Havard

Don’t you just wish, that when the wind outside is howling and you know your hands are going to turn into ice blocks as soon as you walk out the front door, that you could just pop a sign up saying ‘Hibernating. See you in the spring’?

Well, some animals do exactly that! This is admittedly no surprise to us but did you know that there are complex processes that have to take place in order for this to happen? And pre-hibernation feeding is just the beginning.

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Hibernation, also know as prolonged torpor, is actually a process which is naturally triggered by a natural substance in animals’ blood. The heart rate, breathing and oxygen consumption of the animal are all lowered to conserve as much energy as possible. Essentially, the animal survives as if on standby.

Not all Polar bears hibernate – only female pregnant ones do.

Read the full story on the BBC Earth blog.