Recently, Social media was recently taken aback watching as alligators in freezing weather of Texas (USA) appeared to go into a deep sleep to stay alive.
Key points
- While rodents and some other animals hibernate for the winter, reptiles and birds do something similar but a little different.
- The process, in the case of coldblooded animals like reptiles, is called brumation — it’s like a temporary version of a mammal hibernating.
- While in this state, reptiles become lethargic and they can go for long stretches without eating or drinking.
- Alligators, bearded dragons, and turtles can be in brumation from just a few hours to months. Under this state, alligators preserve energy by slowing down their internal activities, allowing them to survive long periods at low temperatures without requiring frequent food intake.
- Like reptiles and mammals, avians (birds) can go into a state called torpor in order to conserve energy under frigid conditions. Torpor is somewhere between a power nap and hibernation.
