US Trends

which animals hibernate

Many different animals hibernate, from tiny insects to big mammals like bears. Hibernation is a special “energy‑saving mode” that helps them survive cold winters or long periods without food.

Quick Scoop: Which animals actually hibernate?

Here are some of the best‑known animals that truly hibernate or enter deep torpor (a lighter version of hibernation).🐾

Mammals

  • Ground squirrels (including arctic ground squirrels – some of the most extreme hibernators, body temperature can drop below freezing).
  • Groundhogs/woodchucks (classic “true hibernators,” sleeping up to about 5 months).
  • Dormice (the edible dormouse can hibernate for up to 11 months in harsh conditions).
  • Hedgehogs (heart rate can drop by around 90% while they hibernate).
  • Bats (many species spend winter in caves, deeply hibernating).
  • Bears such as brown bears and grizzlies (technically “torpor” rather than classic hibernation, but often grouped as hibernators).
  • Chipmunks (enter repeated bouts of torpor, waking occasionally to eat stored food).
  • Marmots, hamsters, some mice and voles (various rodent species use winter hibernation).
  • Fat‑tailed dwarf lemur (a small primate from Madagascar and the only known primate that truly hibernates for months in tree hollows).

Birds

  • Common poorwill (the only bird known to truly hibernate, sometimes for weeks to months in cold seasons).

Reptiles and amphibians

  • Many frogs and toads (bury themselves in mud or soil and become very inactive through winter).
  • Some salamanders, including the Siberian salamander, which can stay frozen and dormant for up to about 10 months.
  • Garter snakes and other snakes (gather in underground dens and become dormant through winter).
  • Turtles such as box turtles (slow heart rate, barely move for months underground or in pond bottoms).

Invertebrates (snails, insects, etc.)

  • Land snails (can seal their shells with mucus and hibernate for months or even years in extreme cases).
  • Bumblebee queens (hide underground and can stay dormant up to about 9 months).
  • Some other insects and spiders use similar winter dormancy, often called diapause, which works like hibernation.

How hibernation works (very simply)

  • Animals build up fat or store food before winter, then find a safe den, burrow, or hiding place.
  • During hibernation, body temperature, heart rate, and breathing slow way down so they use almost no energy.
  • Some, like ground squirrels, occasionally wake briefly to warm up a bit, then go back into deep sleep.

Quick FAQ

Do all bears hibernate?
Most bear species in cold regions enter a long winter torpor that people usually call hibernation, though their body temperature doesn’t drop as much as in small rodents.

Is it only mammals that hibernate?
No. Some birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and even snails have hibernation‑like dormancy to survive bad seasons.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.