What Is The Phenomenon Of Hibernation All About?

The word 'hibernate' is derived from the Latin word 'hibernare', which means 'to winter'.  In general terms, hibernation is practiced by animals, which is done by them to escape the severe cold of the winter.  They do so by going into a deep long slumber that continues throughout the course of winter.  For this purpose, many animals find a particular sheltered place, which is underground or at the base of trees and hedges, where they choose to sleep for the rest of the winter.

The animals that hibernate on a regular basis, that is, in winter every year are frogs, toads, dormice, tortoises, squirrels, newts, hedgehogs, lizards, bats.  During the phase of hibernation, if one observes an animal, it seems as if it is almost lifeless.  The breathing is almost at a standstill and the heartbeat also slows down.  During this period, the body of the animal gets its nourishment from the sugars that have been stored in the liver and also by fat that the animals had built up during summer.