The ever-social and active squirrels are smart and resourceful animals.Squirrels have over 200 species that can be generally categorized as one of these three, tree squirrels, ground squirrels, or flying squirrels. Apart from this categorization, there are still color-based differences and geographical differences between squirrels.Like most other animals, a squirrel has to work hard to survive the harsh and cold months of winter. When the temperature drops in the cold season, heat becomes the most important thing. The animal kingdom as a whole has different ways in which it adapts to stay alive during the winter months. Similarly, squirrels too use multiple strategies to battle the cold temperatures. The techniques differ from one subspecies to another among them.If you loved reading this article, then you will most definitely enjoy reading the articles do squirrels have rabies and do squirrels mate for life here on Kidadl!Do squirrels hibernate, and if so, when?Hibernation is the concept where an animal reduces its metabolism, heart rate, body temperature, and other physiological functions that are not vital. During the period of hibernation, the animal will come out of its deep sleep to replenish its energy and satisfy its need for food and water. Many animals, like bears and bats, are popularly known to hibernate during the winter season.Squirrels cannot be completely considered hibernating animals. This is so because not all species of squirrels become completely inactive during cold weather. However, the common behavior among all of them is that they all hoard food items collected during the warmer seasons. They use this store of food in the winter months to build up energy while fresh food sources are scarce.The active nature of squirrels does become less in the cold season. They tend to idle around in their nests and are not seen outside often. Tree squirrels, which also include the gray squirrel species, are the ones that are abundantly active during the daylight hours and don’t really go into hibernation. Yet, an exception is the eastern gray squirrel that becomes active at sunset.The species of squirrels that do go into hibernation are ground squirrels. Ground squirrels go into hibernation in winter and only become active once the warmer months return. The Arctic ground squirrel of Alaska hibernates and conserves its energy in the cold weather.Where do squirrels hibernate in the winter?A warm and well-formed space is needed by animals during cold conditions to rest for an extended period without any threat to their well-being. Hibernating squirrels are often in nests and burrows.The nest that a squirrel uses for hibernation is called a den. These are the spaces that woodpeckers create while pecking trees and then leave alone. Tree squirrels and other squirrel species such as red squirrels, gray squirrels, fox squirrels, and flying squirrels use these dens to shelter themselves in winter. They insulate these dens in the trees with leaves and twigs.On the other hand, ground squirrels hibernate by making burrows in the ground. A ground squirrel sticks to the ground, similar to rock squirrels. When the temperature becomes warm again, they come out of their burrows and return to their routine of mischief and scavenging to find food again.Interestingly, tree squirrels may invite others to join their den during the cold weather. Squirrels stick together to regulate body temperatures. The more of them that can fit in a den, the more insulate and warm it will be.Therefore, dens and burrows play an important role in making sure that squirrels have a space to hibernate and stay alive. If a squirrel is caught in extreme weather conditions of some places during winter, it can freeze to death.How do you tell if a squirrel is hibernating?An animal’s metabolism rate becomes low when it is going into hibernation. They reduce all strenuous activities that require them to expend a large amount of energy. Instead, they start storing up energy to deal with the colder temperatures.Normally squirrels don’t hibernate except for some of their species, like the ground squirrel. However, they do become less active and stay holed up in their nests and burrows through winter. Squirrels adopt a lot of techniques to keep themselves warm. Squirrels start gathering and storing food in places. They spend months before winter accumulating various food items such as nuts, berries, and some meat and bone too and store them in nests or any place they feel is safe.American red squirrels are known to store all their food in one place. Contrastingly, other types of squirrels like to store food in different places in case one of them is looted or unavailable for some reason.The food consumption rate of animals also increases in the months before the cold weather arrives. Squirrels eat a lot of food during the fall season. This is so that their body fat can increase. Fat helps animals, including squirrels, to keep their body temperature high. Often people see squirrels getting a fatter coat and looking chubbier in the fall. The reason behind it is that they are fattening up their coat and shaping it in a way that will keep them warmer during the cold weather.So if you squirrels hoarding food and looking plump, know that they are planning to go into hibernation soon or about to become inactive for a period of time.Can you wake a hibernating squirrel?Most squirrels don’t really hibernate. However, they have a high sleeping rate and their sleep is quite deep. Animals who hibernate do so in order to survive the harsh winter temperature by reducing their metabolism rate and conserving their energy.First of all, it is really hard to wake an animal who is hibernating. When an animal is awoken from its hibernation, it will have to exert energy and use its stored heat and fat to stay awake and warm in the cold. Moreover, once forcefully awoken, it is hard for them to go back into hibernation and they might not survive the rest of winter and possibly die.The same is true for squirrels. When they are holed up in their nest or burrow, they are safe. But if they were to face the cold of the winter, they would freeze, and it can be fatal for them.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Do squirrels hibernate in the winter? Curious tree squirrels facts! then why not take a look at Myth or fact: can cows go downstairs? The truth revealed, or 11 lesser know facts on traditional Chinese clothes explained!
The ever-social and active squirrels are smart and resourceful animals.
