Winter is a difficult period for many representatives of the animal kingdom on our planet. The starting point for them is autumn. Animals prepare for winter precisely with the onset of this time of year. Each zoological species is prepared in its own way: some animals switch to "winter" fur, others manage to make supplies of "food", and still others, having gained enough fat over the summer, are forgotten in winter sleep. But what kind of animals meet winter in full “combat readiness”? How do they do it? In this article, you will learn with a few examples which animals are preparing for winter and how they do it.
How are hamsters prepared for winter?
Winter time in the northern regions is perhaps the most stressful and responsible time in the life of small rodents. In order to avoid starvation and cold death, many small animals are stocked up with significant reserves of feed. For example, an ordinary hamster living in the steppes of Western Siberia and Europe prepares for winter as follows: a rodent gains several kilograms (!) Of selected grains and root crops during the fall. He does this diligently and complaisantly: the hamster for days sends the crop from the fields to his "bins", dragging the grains in the cheek pouches.
How do voles meet winter?
It is interesting to meet the winter and many voles. These cute mice already from spring begin to harvest grass, stacking it in small piles under certain shelters (for example, under stones). In the summer, voles bring there rose hips, leaves, cones and needles. The vigorous activity of these creatures ends in the fall, when the first snow covers mountain meadows. Scientists have calculated the seasonal supply of these animals: one family of voles stores from 5 to 10 kg of feed!
Real sony!
How do animals prepare for winter yet? Some negligent animals fully justify their name, hibernating for the winter. Mother nature decreed that these sloths do not even burden themselves with worries about their daily bread. Really, why? After all, you can just go into hibernation! Who are these little lazy creatures? Yes, it's Sonya! Small rodents similar to squirrels. They live mainly in European forests, for which they were called forest sleepyheads.
Before the onset of cold weather, forest dormouse begin to noticeably gain weight. They grow fat until they begin to weigh a couple of times more than usual and look like a small fur bag. These creatures sleep in spherical nests, twisted by them specifically for wintering. At least in some ways they are active! Zoologists are moved by the sight of a sleeping forest dormouse: the rodent curls up into a very dense ball, pressing its nose and small paws to its abdomen. At the same time, a fluffy tail with a half-ring covers almost the entire body of the animal.
Wild animals get ready for winter. Brown bear
Not far from the forest dormouse, the clubfoot also left. In particular, the owner of the Russian taiga is a brown bear. Bears are predatory animals that do not arrange for themselves any pantries, preferring to go into hibernation for the winter. Speaking in the language of metaphor, clubfoot heavyweights are their own “pantries”, because all summer and autumn they try to eat large reserves of subcutaneous fat in their bodies. Moreover, fat is a great “insulation” in the winter season!
The clubfingers begin to eat when the berry ripens in the forest. While animals are preparing for the winter in one way or another, bears are eager to feed on plant rhizomes, berries, nuts, etc. Honey is a favorite treat for a brown bear. For the sake of its sweet and alluring taste, the beast is ready for hours to endure the bites of angry wild bees. But the bearish “menu”, of course, is not limited only to plant foods. Do not forget that this beast is a real predator, therefore, along with berries and nuts, these animals feed on young deer, hares, foxes, wolves and fish. The bear does not cost anything to lift an adult moose!
But gaining subcutaneous fat is only half the battle. Before the onset of lingering cold weather, the clubfoot must have time to find a secluded place for the future den. Bears do this with enviable care. As soon as the place is found, the beast proceeds to "construction": he digs a hole in the ground, warming it with branches, moss, needles and other improvised materials. If in one forest or another the search for a place for the den was unsuccessful, the bear may look for someone else’s shelter. Some of them even drive away the current guest from there and lie there themselves. Here it is - bearish preparations for the winter!
Quiet in the forest: beavers, hedgehogs and badgers sleep
Speaking about how animals prepare for winter (pictures with some representatives of the fauna world are presented in the article), one cannot but say about badgers, beavers and, of course, hedgehogs. For example, beavers have been harvesting many twigs since the summer, taking them under water to their huts. There they pile up the “building material”.
Badgers decided to follow the example of clubfoot: they also store up subcutaneous fat by winter. In addition, it’s easier for them (than the bears) to build a shelter for the winter, and, it should be noted, they quite skillfully cope with their task. Zoologists claim that some of these animals can prepare for winter in just one day! It is curious that sometimes a badger “invites” a raccoon neighbor to its refuge. Both animals coexist perfectly in the hole, spending short winter evenings together.
Hedgehogs are insectivorous, preferring to spend winter time in hibernation. To do this, they are looking for secluded burrows located at a distance of 1.5 m from the surface of the earth. Hedgehogs, like bears, sleep all winter. Before going to winter sleep, these insectivores eat hard, accumulating all the same subcutaneous fat, allowing them to sleep through the whole season without unnecessary problems. If a hedgehog goes into hibernation while lean, then he simply does not have a chance to survive the winter. Despite the name of their detachment (insectivorous), these creatures eat not only insects, but also frogs, snails, lizards, mice, bird eggs.
What other animals are preparing for winter?
The pictures presented in this article were not chosen randomly: they depict the most striking representatives of the animal kingdom, which are preparing for winter. This is done not only by large animals, but also by very tiny creatures - insects. Ants, for example, before the onset of severe cold weather begin to rebuild large anthills. Bees with the help of wax denser close their letok, leaving only scanty hole-holes.
The question of how animals prepare for winter will not be fully disclosed, if not to mention the feathered brothers of our lesser ones. Many birds fly away to warm places for the winter, returning to their “native penates” only in the spring (storks, cranes, rooks). They are called migratory. But not all birds do this. There are also settled birds, that is, those who remain for the winter in their native lands. These are mainly urban birds (sparrows, pigeons, tits).
