Finnel-Gudwein

How Illinois Animals Take on Winter

written by Grace Finnel-Gudwein

When the weather turns cold and winter comes here in Illinois, the cozy, soft sweaters come out, the warm, crackling fireplaces are lit, and delicious, stick-to-your-bones meals are prepared. Animals in the state, though, do not have this luxury. Instead, they have their own mechanisms for surviving the winter. From hibernation, to migration, to a chilly staycation, native Illinois animals all have their own unique ways to survive the cold winters.

One Illinois animal that hibernates over the winter is the groundhog. The same animal as a woodchuck, groundhogs are a true hibernating species, which means when they go to sleep in the winter, their metabolism, body temperature, and heart rate all drop. For groundhogs, this means their breathing rate drops to two breaths per minute, 37 degrees Fahrenheit body temperature, and five heart beats per minute, according to the National Wildlife Federation.Hibernation begins as early as late October and can last until early

March, says the Prairie State Wildlife. Groundhogs hibernate for these four to five months in homemade burrows on the edges of open woodlands, such as near fences or trees. Some burrows have up to five entrances, can be five feet deep, and over sixty feet long.

Besides hibernation, other Illinois animals migrate to warmer areas. One of these animals is the ruby-throated hummingbird. Flapping its wings up to fifty times per second, these little birds migrate south from Illinois and other eastern states all the way to Mexico, Costa Rica, and Panama, according to the Audubon Society. Some hummingbirds choose to go straight across the Gulf of Mexico, a nonstop, almost five hundred mile flight lasting around twenty hours. The bird may lose about a fourth of its body weight during the trip, according to the Hummingbirds website. Other hummingbirds, though, take the long way, curving around the coast of Texas. This migration south begins around late August to early September, and the migration home starts in January.

If an animal does not sleep through or fly away from winter, it likely just toughs out the cold Illinois season. White-tailed deer, for example, stay in Illinois year round. To survive the cold months, deer grow a fur coat of guard hairs, which are thicker and warmer than their normal fur and absorb more sunlight, according to the Reconnect with Nature website. They also produce more oils that repel water and snow from penetrating their fur. Deer also retain more fat before winter, and they eat more calorie dense food throughout the season. These foods include nuts, berries, and their usual vegetation; sometimes the deer must dig in the snow to find enough food to eat. Finally, they become less active to conserve energy and gather in areas free of large amounts of snow and strong winds.

These examples are just a few of the many native Illinois animals that find ways to survive the winter. All of these animals are unique, just like their survival mechanisms, and they demonstrate how special native Illinois animals truly are. This winter, when you are cozy at home, remember these critters that are roughing it out there, whether they are asleep underground, flying across the Gulf of Mexico, or in your own frozen backyard.