Uh oh. Brrrrr. You've just realised, it's cold outside! You're
an animal without access to central heating and an extra jumper.
Winter is a hard time for you. It's cold and there is much less
food available. You've got three choices. Which will you pick? You
can:
Hibernate
Hibernation is like a very deep sleep. Animals hide away in a
den or burrow, surviving on fat reserves they have put on over
summer. Their body temperature and heart rate slow right down. This
helps them to save their energy. Hibernating animals wake up in
spring when the weather is warmer and food supplies have
increased.
How do animals prepare their bodies for hibernation? Chris
Packham explains!
Migrate
Would you like to go somewhere hot for the winter? That's what
migrating animals do. When the weather starts to get cold migrating
animals fly or swim to a warmer place where they can find food. Why
don't migrating birds get lost?
Which birds migrate to the UK? Have a look at this!
Adapt
Animals that adapt to the cold weather often change their
appearance. They grow extra fur or fat to keep them warm. Some
animals change colour to camouflage themselves against the snow.
These animals can find food in winter, even though there isn't much
food around. Some animals change what they eat to ensure they
always find plenty of food!
Some animals can survive winter temperatures of minus 40 degrees
Celsius! Have a look at these musk oxen.
There are loads of great games to find out more about animals
over winter. Have a look at these winter animal
games.
Now you know all about how animals survive winter, can you beat
our tricky true or false quiz?
I'm sorry, it appears you do not have flash installed.