Hibernation Day

On Friday, our class learned about the ways animals survive cold, winter weather and frigid Arctic climates. We did some research on animals that hibernate, migrate, and adapt to their environment. 

The kids ate a big breakfast of donuts, cake, and milk or juice. We dimmed the lights and pretended we were hibernating. 

                                         

Animals have amazing ways of surviving long, cold winters and frigid Arctic climates.

In summer, the fur of the Arctic fox is brown or gray, enabling it to easily blend in with the rocks and plants of the Arctic tundra. But when winter arrives, its coat becomes white, effectively camouflaging the small animal and helping to protect it from predators.

Most Arctic animals have adaptations to prevent them from freezing. But the wood frog actually stays frozen for eight months out of the year. At the beginning of winter, ice forms around the frog’s internal organs and between layers of skin and muscles. But the liver produces high levels of glucose, and this syrupy sugar prevents the frog’s cells from freezing on the inside. While in this frozen state, the wood frog doesn’t breathe, and its heart doesn’t beat. Yet when spring arrives, the wood frog thaws, and it’s heart begins beating once more.

Another fascinating member of the animal kingdom is the monarch butterfly. Butterflies that emerge after mid-August begin migrating thousands of miles south to the forests of Central Mexico. This generation will live six to nine months. They'll spend the winter in Mexico, then in the spring they will begin to migrate north, laying eggs along the way. The second and third generation (their children and grandchildren) will live only two to six weeks as adults. The fourth generation will then begin the migration south. Scientists do not know how the butterflies find their way south, to the exact location their ancestors visited.

It defies logic to believe that the complex biological processes involved in these adaptations could be accidental. Hibernation, migration, and adaptation to the environment point to intelligent design by a amazing Creator.

The children may take for granted these amazing aspects of the animal kingdom. But I hope they will come to understand that the God of the universe, who so lovingly looks after the animals in winter, also cares about every aspect of their lives.  

For every beast of the forest is mine,
    the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the hills,
    and all that moves in the field is mine. Psalm 50:10-11