November 2022 Kids’ Corner
from the Gale River Cooperative Preschool
The Bear NEcessities
As the end of Autumn rolls around, animals are finishing their preparation for winter. Many animals have special ways of coping with the cold temperatures. We refer to a variety of methods all as hibernation, but there are actually a few different types of winter dormancy. Hibernation is a state of slowed breathing and heartbeat, lower body temperature, and slow use of stored energy. In New Hampshire, bats, jumping mice and woodchucks truly hibernate. Hibernators can wake up and move around a few times throughout the winter and will take advantage of a warmer day to get some more food or relieve themselves.
Other animals, such as the bear, actually use torpor during the winter. Torpor, like hibernation, includes using energy slower and a slower heartbeat and breathing, but the animal’s body temperature doesn’t decrease as much as in hibernation. Animals in torpor will wake up and move around more frequently. Bears, despite not peeing or pooping, will actually give birth and take care of their babies in the winter while they’re in and out of torpor. They could also run away if they were threatened. You still wouldn’t want to wake up a sleeping bear though, because they plan out their use of energy and if they’re forced to move around that could mess up their plan. Other animals that go into torpor in New Hampshire are chipmunks, skunks, racoons, and squirrels.
Animals getting ready for winter dormancy will go to great lengths to get at food so continue to be careful with your garbage and don’t put out your bird feeder until at least December 1st. If we haven’t had a few days of cold weather by then, wait until we get that kind of weather. Bird feeders should get put away by April 1st when the bears start to come out.
Want tips on how to explore winter dormancy this November? Here are some ideas before you head outside!
Go on a foraging hike! Pretend you are an animal preparing for winter and you need to stock up on food. What can you find? Search for nuts, seeds, berries and fruit as you hike and gather to see what you find. You could then use them to sort, create patterns, or turn them into art project.
Look for animal homes. As you hike or explore a nearby forest, search for places an animal might like to live. Can you find holes in trees? What about holes in the ground? Are there any good root masses or rock formations around? You could then work on building your own home by creating an A-frame. Sandwich the end of a long stick in the “Y” of a tree then lean other sticks against it to create a shelter!
Create a cave with a sleepy animal! Toilet paper tubes make great caves. Decorate your tube with an assortment of nature objects to camouflage it and protect the animal inside. You could also use some nature materials to line the inside and make it soft. After you have your winter home, you can create a popsicle stick puppet to slide in and out of your cave!
Create a bear face with a fork and paint! Use a fork to create furry looking paint in the shape of your bear’s face. Finish decorating with cut out ears, eyes, nose and mouth if you want!
