Science • Animals
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Why Do Animals Hibernate?

When winter comes to cold countries, some animals do something amazing — they fall into a deep, special sleep called hibernation.

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Tap Next to find out why they do it — and try some fun activities along the way!

🍂 When does trouble come?

Animals hibernate to survive one tricky season. Tap the season you think is hardest for them to find food.

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Spring
☀️
Summer
🍁
Autumn
❄️
Winter
Yes — Winter! ❄️
In winter it gets very cold, plants stop growing, and insects hide away. There is almost no food and it is hard to stay warm. Hibernating helps animals get through this tough time.

😴 A super-deep sleep

Hibernation is not the same as a night's sleep. The animal's body almost switches to "low power mode" to save energy.

Normal sleep 🛏️ Hibernation 🐻
Wakes up easily Very hard to wake
Lasts one night Can last weeks or months
Heartbeat normal Heartbeat very slow

Let's see that slow heartbeat for ourselves on the next slide… 💓

💓 Save energy, slow down

To use less energy, a hibernating animal slows its heartbeat right down. Tap the button to help the bear go into hibernation.

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80 beats / minute
The bear is wide awake and active.

See how the heart barely moves when it is very slow? That saves lots of energy!

🫐 Eat now, sleep later

Before hibernating, animals eat lots of food in autumn to build up fat. That stored fat is the fuel their body slowly burns all winter.

Drag the berries onto the bear to fill its fat store. Fill it up to get ready!

🫐 🍓 🍯 🐟 🌰 🍎
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Fat store: 0 / 5
Drag food onto the bear. On a touch screen, tap a berry then tap the bear.

🔎 Spot the hibernators

Not every animal hibernates. Tap the animals that really do hibernate. Find all 0 of them!

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Bear
🦔
Hedgehog
🦁
Lion
🐸
Frog
🐘
Elephant
🦇
Bat
🐕
Dog
🐿️
Ground squirrel
Tip: think about which small animals hide away in cold winters.

🌸 Rise and shine!

When spring returns, the air warms up and food appears again. The animal's heartbeat speeds up, its body warms, and it slowly wakes up — hungry and ready to explore!

😊 🌷 🌼

Hibernation isn't lazy — it's a clever survival trick! 🧠

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Great work, hibernation expert!

Here is everything you discovered:

Now you can explain why animals hibernate to your family. Well done! 🎉