Open fires are prohibited throughout the park from midnight to 4 p.m. through April 30 per the 4 p.m. Burning Law. This includes wood and charcoal. Gas is permissible. Campground fires are allowed during the restricted time if a camp host is on duty and signage to that effect is posted in the campground. Failure to observe the 4 p.m. Burning Law can result in a fine. Contact the Park Office for additional information.

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Wildlife Surviving Winter

By Guest BloggerPosted January 11, 2022

 

Shared by Monica Hoel- Guest Blogger for Hungry Mother, as Guest Blogger.

I recently swapped out the seed in my bird feeders from sunflower to safflower because everyone told me grey squirrels don’t like safflower. What no one told me is that chipmunks LOVE safflower. So I routinely watch them clean me out in a matter of hours and think, “Good thing they’re cute.”

Chipmunk searching for food

It’s hard to get too angry when I consider how hard they are working to get ready for surviving winter. This time of year, I’m cold no matter where I’m sitting, and these little critters are going to make it to spring without the benefit of space heaters, fleece hats, or those little hand warmer things.

How do they do it?

These days wildlife biologists are using a more nuanced set of words to talk about the phenomenon that most of us grew up knowing simply as hibernation. The notion of bears crawling into a cave and sleeping soundly for several months until the daffodils bloom is romantic, but the actual process is apparently much more complicated.


Now scientists use words like aestivation (similar to our notion of hibernation but it happens in the summer), brumation (a state of sluggishness or inactivity), and torpor (a state of reduced physical activity characterized by a slowed heart rate, reduced metabolism, and lowered body temperature) in addition to hibernation. Winter is a challenge for every living entity in nature, and every animal has a unique way of coping with the cold.

Chipmunks, Turtles, Bears, oh my!

Take the little thieves who are eating all my bird seed. Chipmunks lower their body temperature to the temperature of their underground burrow (sometimes as low as 40 degrees), their heart rate reduces from 350 beats per minute to as low as 4 beats per minute, and they sleep -- a lot. But instead of living off body fat reserves like a lot of hibernating animals (bears, for instance), they wake up occasionally, raise their body temperature and heart rate to normal levels, eat from their food store (up to 8 pounds of seeds and nuts -- and my safflower), and they urinate and defecate before turning in for more napping.

Chipmunk exploring winter.

Bears also slow down their bodily functions but while they will occasionally wake up and wander around, they don’t eat or drink and they don’t use “the little bear’s room” for the duration of their sleepy season. In fact, if you’re really curious, read about the "fecal plug" that basically seals off their colon for a while.


Since we’re talking about posteriors, consider the turtle -- because turtles will survive winter by "breathing” through their bottoms. Turtles are exothermic (which means they need an external source of heat to survive) so winter can be real trouble. They don’t technically hibernate because they don’t sleep the winter away, but they do settle into the muddy bottom of the water where the temps are unlikely to drop below freezing. So how do they breathe? They actually stop breathing and instead get oxygen by passing water over the parts of their bodies that are rich with blood vessels. Guess which part has the most blood vessels? Let’s just say that some folks refer to this cloacal respiration as "butt breathing."

Turtle walking through leaves

Birds have a lot of clever options for surviving the cold. Depending on the species, some might make use of their ability to fly and simply pack up their tiny suitcases and head to a different location. Others stick around and use tricks like shivering (this rapid muscle movement creates energy and produces heat). Some will put on the equivalent of a puffy jacket--  fluffing out their feathers to trap air around their bodies and create insulation. And some will use torpor. In fact, hummingbirds are known to use torpor year-round to get some nightly shut-eye


Perhaps no animal does torpor better than the tiny Wood Frog. As soon as a Wood Frog comes in contact with ice, a process begins that slows down his heart and encapsulates organs into a frozen state. The frog’s heart will even stop beating for a time -- but he’s not dead. He literally freezes until it’s safe to thaw out and do what wood frogs do. 

Wood frog

Seeing Nature at Work

Every animal and plant in nature has a process for surviving the cold, and thanks to fleece hats and those little hand warmer things, this is a great time for humans to get outside and experience the wonder that happens during this cold season. Virginia State Parks have great hiking trails and education programs that will shed light on these shortest of days. A ranger at Hungry Mother State Park once taught me my most favorite winter fact. On a hike she showed me a random patch of ice -- and then the tiny hole behind the ice. Some little mammal was in her burrow sleeping and her breath was freezing at the entrance of the hole. It was a glimpse into the fascinating world of nature’s tricks for winter survival, and I have never looked at winter days the same.

Winter tricks

Grab your hand warmers, and let’s head to a state park and learn more.

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If you have read the article and have a question, please email nancy.heltman@dcr.virginia.gov.

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