Hibernation is common among many species that do it to survive the winter.As soon as the winter arrives, they settle in a warm, cozy place to survive the freezing cold. But have you ever wondered if deer hibernate?Just like other animals, they too have to face the winter months. Deer don’t hibernate. They don’t go into hiding or move south. Instead, deer use a hope-for-the-best strategy to survive during the winter months. They do prepare for the winter, however. They become less active, consume a lot of food before winter, and find a place to keep themselves warm. Unfortunately, not everyone makes it through the winter and few of them die. Read on to learn about the survival strategies of deer to live through the cold weather.If you’re curious to learn more about deer, why not read roe deer facts and do deer eat pumpkins.What do deer do in the winter?During the winter, many wildlife species change their behavior. Deer change their everyday routine to adjust to the challenges of nature.The first thing they’d do is find shelter for themselves and their family. They don’t usually go into caves but look for a cover to protect themselves from the falling snow. Softwood trees are a good example. While protecting them from snow, the canopy also protects them from harsh cold wind. It’s good if they have a food source near to them. They’re less picky during this time and eat anything they’re offered by nature. Unless forced to, deer will not leave their initial shelter.Deer also become less active. This serves two purposes. One is they save energy by moving less. Their metabolism drops and they last longer without food. Two is they reduce the risk of attracting predators. During the winter, deer spend most of their time resting under trees, finding food, and looking out for predators. Despite their efforts, not all of them make it through the winter. If the winter weather is less severe, then 95% will survive. In intense cold weather that lasts long, as many as 50% will die.What season do deer hibernate?Hibernation is a way for animals to pull through the winter weather when there’s a significant temperature drop. Not only that, there are harsh instances of cold wind blowing, heavy snow, and cloud cover.During this period, certain animals undergo psychological changes like slowing down their metabolism or dropping their body temperature. The animals also do not move and find a place where they can safely rest for months. All of this is to conserve energy and rely on body heat. Deer don’t hibernate like the rest of the animals. There’s no specific season where you’ll find a deer immobile, hiding inside a cave.Deer don’t go into hibernation because their bodies aren’t designed for it. When in hibernation, the metabolism of an animal slows down and so do heart rate, breathing, and other physiological processes. There’s also a drop in body temperature. This state is called the ’torpor’ state. Animals who are able to enter this state are called heterothermic endotherms and deer don’t belong to that category. Only smaller animals like bats and hedgehogs are heterothermic endotherms. Even bears are not typical hibernators as per the definition. They enter what is called a ‘winter sleep’.Since they don’t go into hibernation, deer will come out into the wild from time to time, even at night. You can spot them if you happen to be nearby. In winter, deer will be most active during the daytime when there’s light and ideally some sunshine.How do deer not freeze to death?Winters are severe in many parts of the world including the United States. Here, the temperature can drop to 2.6 F (-16.3 C) in places in Alaska. The national average tends to be 33.2 F (0.6 C) for the lowest winter months.So, how come deer survive such freezing temperatures for that long? Before the winter arrives, during the fall, deer increase their food intake. They consume all sorts of foods that are available to them like woody plants, grasses, plants, and fruits. Several studies have confirmed that deer are most active around dawn and dusk.So, surplus energy is used as fat reserves. Once the winter season kicks in, deer have 25% of their body weight as fat. In October, deer are reported to have gained their maximum weight for that year. They use this layer of fat as a winter coat which allows them to stay warm. A higher intake of food definitely helps them prepare for the winter.Just before the winter season, deer start to shed their lighter summer coat. Their coat is the hairs on their skin. As the winter nears, they start to grow long, thick brown hair. These new brown hairs are known as ‘guard hairs’ and form a thicker coat for deer. At the same time, they also grow an undercoat. This winter coat, along with the undercoat, provides the necessary insulation and helps them stay warm from inside by trapping more body heat.During the daytime where there’s little sunlight, the coat also absorbs the heat from the sun. When the winter ends, they shed the thick hair and regrow the old hair for the summers. Then, there’s something more helpful on the deer’s body. Their skin contains oil-producing glands. They release oil onto the hair and make them water-resistant. All of these factors help deer make it through the harsh winter months.Do white-tailed deer hibernate or migrate?White-tailed deer are a common deer species found in North America and as far south as Mexico. Just like other deer species, these deer do not migrate southward, nor do they hibernate.They play the game that the rest of their species does: to prepare and hope for the best. They grow a winter coat for insulation, eat a lot of food in fall, and look for a place to stay warm. They change their behavior, sleep a lot, spend less energy, and utilize fat reserves. So a white-tailed deer’s survival tactic is to wait it out.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for ‘Do deer hibernate?’, then why not take a look at ‘How much hay does a horse eat?’ or ‘Do all mammals have hair? Know interesting animal body facts for kids!’
Hibernation is common among many species that do it to survive the winter.
