#eudcational

With the onset of winter, complaining about cold weather begins, but some animals have learned to conquer the cold by astounding survival skills. From antifreeze blood, sleepy winters to lounging by hot springs, here are some animals that know how to stay warm even in the harshest of winters!

1. Feather and Family – Emperor Penguins can stay warm in the Antarctic because the outer surface of the bird’s feathers drops to lower temperatures than the surrounding air. The super cold feathers help the birds warm up on by a physical process known as convection. They also huddle together to beat the cold – there’s warmth in company!

2. Antifreeze – The icefish found in the Antarctic and the northern cod found in the Arctic might be poles apart from each other, but both these species of fish have developed a kind of anti-freeze protein in their blood that keeps them from freezing!

3. Winter nap – Bears are not the only animals that like to sleep right through the cold months. Alpine marmots are small rodents found in the mountains of Europe and they sleep for 8 harsh months of cold weather, remaining active only in the rest of 4 months! At the onset of winter this rodent will gather soft, brown twigs to makes its bedding in the underground burrows and go to sleep. Insomnia is certainly not a problem!

4. Hot Springs Sauna – Japanese macaques live further north than any other primate species other than humans. They are called snow monkeys for this reason. In the coldest habitat of the Jigokudani valley of Nagano prefecture in Japan, these smart primates have found a way to keep warm. They dip into man-made, hot-springs pools! Using the hot springs seems to be a learned behavior that the monkeys teach to each other.

5. Sleepy Bird – Common Poorwill, a nocturnal Nightjar is one of those rare birds that goes into hibernation during winters rather than migrating to warm climates like many of its other feathered friends. In the deserts in California, surviving long, cold spells in torpid conditions is no small feat. The bird has thus adapted drop its body temperature and hide under rocks to sleep through the winter.

Image sources (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)

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