Edit page | Page history | Printable version

Cessation from or slowing of activity during the winter; especially slowing of metabolism in some animals.The act of retiring into inactivity; he emerged from his hibernation to make his first appearance in several years.The torpid or resting state in which some animals pass the winter.A state of dormancy used by animals in the colder winter months where metabolism is slowed down and expenditure of energy is therefore reduced. This is done mostly due to the fact that food sources are scarce at this time of the year, and if the animal did not hibernate, it would more than likely have a greater expenditure of energy looking for food than the energy gained by finding it.