Just For Kids!

Long Winter's Nap

Everyone has seen the beautiful flocks of birds and butterflies migrating South for the winter. But where do all of the other animals go, the ones that we see every summer but seem to vanish as soon as the first frost hits?

Animals like turtles, bats, and frogs depend on the warmer weather to survive. So when it starts to get cold, they fall into a deep sleep known as hibernation and stay in that state all winter long.

Turtles and frogs are cold-blooded animals, like snakes, crocodiles, and dinosaurs. Their bodies don’t produce their own heat like ours do, so they need the warmth of the sun to make their hearts beat and digest their food. Their bodies cannot function normally when the temperature drops below fifty degrees. But, instead of dying when the cold weather comes, these Long Island reptiles and amphibians find a safe place to hide, and go to sleep. Since they are both water animals, both frogs and turtles find a damp place where they stay moist, and actually freeze themselves inside little blocks of ice! Aquatic frogs (frogs that live in the water) absorb oxygen through their skin. These frogs will bury themselves in mud, or half in mud and half in water, in order to breathe while they hibernate. Sometimes, the water in ponds does not freeze completely in the winter and some frogs will swim very, very slowly in the thick, slushy water under the ice from time to time during hibernation to stretch their legs. Turtles need even less oxygen than frogs do, and they actually bury themselves underneath the mud on the bottom of ponds and lakes until the warm weather heats up the water and wakes them up.

Bats are warm-blooded animals, like dogs, cats, and humans, so their bodies produce their own heat. So why do they hibernate? All bats eat either fruit or flying insects. And while there is plenty of fruit and plenty of insects for bats to eat in warm places like South America and Africa, North American bats would starve to death if they tried to hunt in the winter time, because none of the plants on Long Island have fruit in the winter and there aren’t any flying insects, either, because they either die in the fall after they lay their eggs, or migrate south. If bats had to use up all of their energy flying around looking for fruits or bugs that were not there, they would all die. Instead, bats go to sleep in their bat houses, under the roofs of our houses, in attics and barns, until their food returns. While they are sleeping, their hearts beat so slowly that if they even moved around for a minute, they could overwork their hearts and die.

Sometimes, because of really warm weather in the winter, like the weather we have been having lately, hibernating animals will wake up and think it is spring! If it stays warm for too long, they could become confused and leave their safe hiding places, then starve when it gets cold again. But, these animals can tell when it is going to get cold again, even before the weatherman, because their bodies are so sensitive to temperature changes. If see any of these animals walking around on a warm winter day, the best thing you can do to protect them is not touch them. If you don’t confuse or disturb them, they will realize that they need to go back to their safe hiding place and hibernate.

If you see one of these animals that you think is in trouble, or if it doesn’t seem to be moving, it could be in cold shock. Sea turtles often go into cold shock on Long Island in the wintertime – if you see one on the beach, call the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation’s 24-Hour Stranding Hotline at (631) 369 - 9829 immediately. If you see a pond turtle, frog or bat that is not moving, or looks sick, call the Wildlife Rescue Center of the Hamptons at (631) 728 - 4200, and follow their instructions.

If you see these animals in March, when it starts to get warm, don’t worry or call any of the rescues. Just go outside, take a walk, and welcome them back!

– Sabrina C. Mashburn