It’s not just bears: These hibernating animals may surprise you
Painted turtles survive months under the ice by breathing out of their butts, for one.
Humans make it through the winter by stocking up on comfort food and firing up the DVR.
But hibernation gets a lot more interesting in the animal kingdom, where frogs freeze solid and lemurs live off fat in their tail for months on end. (Learn which animal hibernates the longest.)
Here are some hibernators that are a lot more unexpected than the average bear.
When the mercury rises, these frogsicles simply thaw out and hop away. “The wood frog’s ability is second to none,” says Jon Costanzo, a biologist at Miami University of Ohio.
How do they do it?
Their secret is a natural antifreeze that prevents fatal ice crystals from forming inside the frogs’ cells when their hearts and breathing cease. (
