

Human: Why do some animals hibernate while others dont?

Assistant: Animals that hibernate tend to do so during the coldest time of year, to save energy and fuel their bodies.  That can work for some species.  But for others it’s better to be active.  It depends on how and where the animal lives.  For instance, animals like deer tend to avoid predators by moving around and grazing all day.  If they hibernate, they risk being vulnerable to attack.  And for birds it can be very hard to know where to find food during the winter, since things like seed caches are under the snow.


Human: Why do some animals hibernate while others dont?

Assistant: There are various answers to this, but an evolutionary one is that they sleep through the winter to save energy and store fat.  Being able to hibernate provides the advantage of not having to use up energy to survive and re-find food, especially in case the food supply dries up.  It’s probably an accident that the hibernating animals don’t freeze to death, and because of that accident it became a trait.  The other option for survival is to find a different food source, or to migrate, but that’s more energy-intensive, so more risky and harder to learn.  Mammals can adapt to seasonal changes because they’re in tune with the environment, and in tune with their internal biology.
Why do some animals hibernate while others dont?
Animals that hibernate tend to do so during the coldest time of year, to save energy and fuel their bodies.  That can work for some species.  But for others it’s better to be active.  It depends on how and where the animal lives.  For instance, animals like deer tend to avoid predators by moving around and grazing all day.  If they hibernate, they risk being vulnerable to attack.  And for birds it can be very hard to know where to find food during the winter, since things like seed caches are under the snow.
There are various answers to this, but an evolutionary one is that they sleep through the winter to save energy and store fat.  Being able to hibernate provides the advantage of not having to use up energy to survive and re-find food, especially in case the food supply dries up.  It’s probably an accident that the hibernating animals don’t freeze to death, and because of that accident it became a trait.  The other option for survival is to find a different food source, or to migrate, but that’s more energy-intensive, so more risky and harder to learn.  Mammals can adapt to seasonal changes because they’re in tune with the environment, and in tune with their internal biology.