Hibernate vs. Brumate

It may be hard to see from the photo but this is snow on Capers from Jan 2025!

If you were an animal how would you handle the cold weather? Would you hibernate or would you brumate (yes there’s a difference!). Or would you be out and about frolicking in the cold, you snow bunny!

Hibernation is a deep, extended sleep-like state used by warm-blooded (endothermic) animals to survive cold temperatures and limited food during winter. During hibernation, an animal’s heart rate, breathing, and metabolism slow dramatically, allowing it to conserve energy for weeks or even months. Bears are a classic example, though technically they enter a lighter form called torpor, along with bats, groundhogs, and some species of mice. These animals rely on stored fat reserves to fuel their bodies until spring arrives, rarely waking and not needing to eat or drink during this period.

Brumation, on the other hand, is the winter survival strategy of cold-blooded (ectothermic) animals, whose body temperature matches their environment. Rather than entering a true sleep, reptiles and amphibians become largely inactive, seeking shelter in burrows, mud, leaf litter, or underwater to avoid freezing temperatures. Animals like turtles, snakes, frogs, and lizards may occasionally wake during warmer winter days to drink water before settling back in. Because their metabolism depends on external heat, brumating animals aren’t choosing rest, they’re responding to environmental limits, waiting patiently for the warmth that allows life to move again in spring.