{"id":16434,"date":"2025-12-29T15:06:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T14:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=16434"},"modified":"2025-12-29T15:08:04","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T14:08:04","slug":"16434","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=16434","title":{"rendered":"Winter Hibernation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WINTER HIBERNATION<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Living in Wenvoe we see a pleasing range of wildlife in our garden and in the nearby woods. In fact, we once walked the Great Glen Way in Scotland from Fort William to Inverness and later wrote to the Scotsman newspaper to say that we saw more wildlife in our garden in Wales than we did hiking across Scotland from one side to the other!<\/p>\n

Most common are grey squirrels and hedgehogs, though we did have refugee pheasants and like most gardens we saw the odd rat or mouse. In winter we saw little of the squirrels and hedgehogs as they hibernate for winter, retreating to their warm and cosy nests and staying there until the spring.<\/p>\n

There is more to hibernation than you may think. Hibernation is really a survival strategy used by many animals to conserve energy during harsh conditions such as winter, by slowing their metabolism, lowering body temperature, and reducing activity.<\/p>\n

Hibernation is a state in which an animal instinctively lowers its metabolic rate that allows animals to survive periods when food is scarce and temperatures are low. Unlike ordinary sleep, hibernation involves profound physiological changes: body temperature drops, heart rate slows dramatically, and breathing becomes minimal. In some species, metabolic activity can fall to just 5% of normal levels. This adaptation enables animals to endure weeks or even months without eating. In the Arctic, for example, the Ground Squirrel can hibernate for 7 to 9 months. While in the European Alps the loveable Marmot can disappear underground for 7 or 8 months.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Our Wenvoe hedgehogs can hibernate for a few weeks or several months. During this time their heart rate drops by as much as 90%, but if it becomes too cold, they briefly wake up. This causes their hearts to beat faster and so warm them up before they go back to sleep.<\/p>\n

Before entering the state of hibernation, animals must store energy. Larger mammals, such as bears, eat excessively in autumn, building fat reserves that sustain them through winter. Smaller creatures, like squirrels and hedgehogs, often cache food in burrows to consume during brief wakeful periods. Some species also grow thicker fur or develop special behaviours to insulate themselves against the cold.<\/p>\n

During hibernation, and to survive without food, in addition to the reduced heart rate, the breathing will slow down greatly and body temperature drops. At the same time the animals undergo chemical changes which manage their waste and maintain muscles. It is a controlled energy saving state, it is distinct from sleep.<\/p>\n

We can help these garden animals like hedgehogs and squirrels by feeding them in the winter months partly to ensure they have the fat reserves for hibernation, but also because in winter their normal foods are scarce. So do put out good quality cat food or dog biscuits and plenty of water, but do not feed them milk which is not good for them.<\/p>\n

In summary, hibernation is a complex, finely tuned adaptation that enables animals to endure periods of cold and scarce food. By slowing their bodies almost to a standstill, creatures from bears to hedgehogs demonstrate nature\u2019s extraordinary ability to survive in challenging environments<\/p>\n

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WINTER HIBERNATION Living in Wenvoe we see a pleasing range of wildlife in our garden and in the nearby woods. In fact, we once walked the Great Glen Way in Scotland from Fort William to Inverness and later wrote to the Scotsman newspaper to say that we saw more wildlife in our garden in Wales than we did hiking across […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[334,49,429],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s6cWjO-16434","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12859,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=12859","url_meta":{"origin":16434,"position":0},"title":"Mrs Tiggy Winkle","author":"Alan Williams","date":"1st February 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Mrs Tiggy Winkle Mrs Tiggy Winkle will be a familiar name to most of you but Beatrix Potter's character is just one appearance of a hedgehog in literature. Shakespeare often referred to them although mostly less than flatteringly; and you can find them turning up worldwide in stories, even as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=49"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16806,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=16806","url_meta":{"origin":16434,"position":1},"title":"Extensive Work Carried Out","author":"Alan Williams","date":"27th March 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Wenvoe Wildlife Group Extensive Work Carried Out Quite a bit of vegetation clearance has been taking place. John Crockford has cut most of the Upper Orchid Field and extensive work has been carried out in the Community Orchard despite the very wet conditions. Strimming has been done in the orchards\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Items for April 2026"","block_context":{"text":"New Items for April 2026","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=432"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Wildlife-Group-300x254.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14916,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=14916","url_meta":{"origin":16434,"position":2},"title":"The Festive Season Is Upon Us","author":"Alan Williams","date":"10th December 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"THE VILLAGE GARDENER The Festive Season Is Upon Us With the festive season upon us, the garden gets a bit neglected. That is probably one of the reasons artistic gardeners say we should leave the dead stalks of perennials standing, as it gives structure to the plot. It\u2019s bad enough\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Village Gardener"","block_context":{"text":"The Village Gardener","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=77"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7537,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=7537","url_meta":{"origin":16434,"position":3},"title":"Wild Life – Consider Making Them Welcome","author":"Alan Williams","date":"3rd May 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Wild Life - Consider Making Them Welcome In response to the Nature News piece in the April magazine, I recall that the only time I have seen a fox in the village was many years ago at night time, running down the road outside my house, no doubt hoping for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=49"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10648,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=10648","url_meta":{"origin":16434,"position":4},"title":"Autumn Activities","author":"Alan Williams","date":"22nd November 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Wenvoe Wildlife Group Autumn Activities Our thanks to John Smith for cutting the Goldsland Orchard site. It is a lot tidier now and this will see us through until next Spring. We hope that gradually grass and wildflowers will replace the Bramble, Teasel, Dock and Burdock. VoGC have used their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wenvoe Wildlife Group"","block_context":{"text":"Wenvoe Wildlife Group","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=48"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Picture5.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3019,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=3019","url_meta":{"origin":16434,"position":5},"title":"Easter Egg Hunt and Clean-up","author":"Alan Williams","date":"31st March 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 We are doing the Easter Egg Trail again this year so from Good Friday why not take the youngsters up to the Upper Orchid Field to follow the trail and answer the questions. Take your completed form to the Wenvoe Village Shop - the first 30 correctly completed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wenvoe Wildlife Group"","block_context":{"text":"Wenvoe Wildlife Group","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=48"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16434"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16434"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16434\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16437,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16434\/revisions\/16437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}