3 Cool Ways Critters Survive Winter

When the arctic winds howl, Emperor Penguins huddle together to keep out the cold.

1. Hibernation

If they can't find enough food, some animals hibernate (sleep to save energy) through the winter. They look for a safe place to settle in for the season and hibernate for up to several months. You might know that bears hibernate, but did you know that other mammals, such as bats and hedgehogs, hibernate as well?

2. Migration

Some animals escape the chill of winter by migrating (traveling) to warmer places. Some of them fly very long distances, such as the arctic tern. This bird flies an average of 44,000 miles round trip. The common swift (a medium-sized bird) has been known to fly 10 months straight from Europe to Africa! But birds aren’t the only animals that migrate. Some monarch butterflies migrate, flying as far as 3,000 miles to escape the cold.

3. Adaptation

Animals such as foxes, deer, and squirrels are active as ever in the winter by adapting (changing their habits to survive). They grow thick coats of fur and store more fat from their food, but they have to eat enough to keep their body temperature up. This is why some creatures like squirrels store up food for the winter, so they have plenty to eat. Animals that don’t store up food for the winter sometimes change their diets. For example, rabbits eat flowers and plants in the spring and summer, but in the fall and winter, they eat twigs and branches.