Ledbury Focus October 2019 Ledbury Focus October 2019 v2 | Page 58

Hazel Dormouse - photo courtesy of Terry Whittaker I n winter, many animals struggle to survive. It’s hard to find enough food to eat and hard to survive the bitterly cold, wet weather. One solution that nature has come up with to help with this problem is hibernation. Hibernation is a bit like sleeping. In fact, hibernating animals may look just like they are sleeping, but hibernation is actually much more than this. Hibernating animals are able to slow their bodies right down: they can slow their heartrate and breathing down, and also lower their body temperature. For example, a hedgehog will slow its heartbeat down from 190 beats per minute to just 20 beats per minute when it hibernates. Its body temperature will drop from 35˚C to just 10˚C! Discover a Wilder Herefordshire with Herefordshire Wildlife Trust this October Heading for Hibernation 58 Hibernating animals do this so that they use less energy and so can survive for many weeks without food. Before going into hibernation, many animals will eat and eat and eat! They do this to make them- selves as fat as possible before hibernating. This fat will give them energy during the winter. If they don't eat enough, they will run out of energy before spring arrives. In the UK, only three species of mammal hibernate: hedgehogs, bats and dormice. Some insects hibernate such as bumblebees, some butterflies and ladybirds as well as amphibians: frogs, toads, newts and reptiles: grass snakes, adders, slow worms. Many people think that squirrels hibernate because they spend lots of time gathering food in autumn but, To advertise call 01684 833715 or email: [email protected]