Happy New Year!
Most of the country was hit by the polar vortex, an arctic airmass. Temperatures dropped. What do animals do when temperatures get that low? During day two of icemaggedon, I saw a collection of House sparrows looking for food. My bird bath was completely frozen, so I slapped a suet bird cake on top. It did not take long for the hungry members of the species Passer domesticus to find it and start eating. Passer domesticus is the Latin name for House sparrow. A gang of Starlings huddled in a nearby tree where they frequently pumped their wings in order to puff up their feathers, which I imagine is something they do to warm themselves. In nature, greater body mass equals more insulation. In a few days, I will fly to Wisconsin where the temperatures are even colder. I have not met the birds up there, but I already respect them simply for surviving. I can recall in years past, when the Texas heat became unbearable telling friends or strangers, “If I were a pigeon, I’d be dead right now.” The underlying message was I can’t survive in a tough environment. Some animals go underground. The subnivean zone is a collection of open spaces and tunnels between the snow and the ground. It’s created when the ground melts the ice directly on top of it. The snow acts as insulation which helps the smaller animals survive. Some animals sleep through the tough times: bears, bees, snakes, woodchucks, hedgehogs, chipmunks, bats, raccoons, and skunks etc. MAD, migrate-adapt-or-die, is the saying that I used to teach my fifth grade students when we were talking about nature’s survival strategies. I am hoping to see some evidence of life in the snow while visiting Wisconsin.
Messner, Kate. Over and Under the Snow. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2011.
Seja, Ledan. “List of Animals that Hibernate.” 17 Jan. 2014. Demand Media. AOL Inc. http://animals.pawnation.com/list-animals-hibernate-3236.html
