Scientists Say: Hibernation
This is more than just a deep sleep
These bats aren’t sleeping. They’re hibernating inside a mine.
メルビル/ CC BY-SA 4.0
Hibernation (noun, “HI-ber-NAY-shun”), Hibernate (verb “HI-ber-nate”)
This is a period of torpor that lasts for a whole season. During torpor, an animal reduces its body temperature. It also decreases its bodily activities. This is a good way for an animal to save energy that it might otherwise use keeping warm and finding food. Torpor can be a short as a single night. But when it goes on for a long time — such as an entire winter — scientists call it hibernation.
In a sentence
The deadly white nose syndrome hits bats while they hibernate — when their low body temperatures make it easier for the fungus that causes the disease to spread.
Follow Eureka! Lab on Twitter
