Animals That Sleep Underground All Winter

During the cold winter months, some animals retire underground and sleep through the season. This process is known as hibernation. A hibernating animal's body temperature and metabolism will drop and help it survive the cold months when not much food is available. Both cold- and warm-blooded animals, as well as some insects like the ladybug, hibernate. Not all animals that hibernate do so underground.

  1. Bears

    • The most famous hibernating animal is the bear, although there is contention whether bears are a true hibernator. If the definition of hibernation is solely that an animal's body temperature drops, then bears cannot be considered hibernators; rather, they lapse into a state of winter sleep or dormancy. However black bears and grizzly bears do not eat, drink, urinate or defecate for up to seven and a half months, which in a broader definition can be called hibernation.

    Gophers

    • These rodents burrow tunnels underground which are well-suited for hibernating. Not all gopher species hibernate. The Richardson's ground squirrel (similar to prairie dogs) is one species that does. In July, the adult gophers often begin their hibernation while younger gophers still in the first year won't begin to hibernate till the starts of fall. In spring male gophers wake a few weeks before the females and begin to establish their territory.

    Snakes

    • A cold-blooded animal that hibernates underground is the snake. Depending on geographic region, some snakes face harsh winters and hibernate while others in tropical parts of the worlds don't. To avoid freezing, snakes will burrow below the frost line. In some areas like western Canada, communal hibernation is common. Snakes like the common garter snake and the western rattlesnake, will hibernate in groups, sometimes in the thousands.

    Bats

    • Most bats also hibernate during winter; similarly to bears, they lapse into a winter sleep. They inhabit caves or abandoned mines and hang upside down from the cave ceiling. The little brown bat is one of the most common bats in North America. In early September, the northern population enters hibernation and awakes in mid May, while bats living further south begin to hibernate in November and wake mid March.