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| How Alligators Survive Winter | |||
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| 작성자 : | 관리자 | ||
Icy winter weather can be a challenge for most animals. Yet surprisingly, alligators have developed an unusual skill to survive the freezing temperatures. When the weather starts to get cold, an alligator takes shelter in the nearest body of water. It submerges its entire body but leaves its snout sticking out of the surface. This way, it can use its snout like a snorkel to breathe, even if the water freezes over. As the mercury continues to drop, the gator’s metabolism slows to a crawl. It becomes sluggish and lethargic, and so it may appear dead to the untrained eye. However, the alligator is simply waiting for the water to warm up so that it can come back out. This behavior is known as “icing,” and it allows alligators to endure freezing weather for short periods of time. It is just one variety of brumation, which is the equivalent of hibernation for reptiles. As cold-blooded animals, reptiles and amphibians are ectothermic.* This means that they cannot generate their own body heat. Unlike mammals, who sweat or shiver to regulate their body temperature, ectotherms rely on external sources of heat. This is why you can often find them lying on rocks, sand, or even pavement, heated by the sun. And without this heat, their bodies cannot function properly and so begin to shut down. To overcome this challenge, some cold-blooded animals enter a state of brumation during cold weather. In this dormant state, they reduce their activity to conserve energy. As a result, they may go without food for several months and ultimately survive the winter. Incredibly, some species, such as the wood frog, are able to freeze solid and thaw themselves once the weather is warm enough.  |
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