So... Where IS Everybody? (Where do animals disappear to in the winter

17Jan,2025

So... Where IS Everybody? (Where do animals disappear to in the winter?)

BY : Rhiannon Nevinczenko

To some, winter's only saving grace is that "the bugs finally go away." But where exactly do they go to? For that matter, what happens to all the other critters who seemingly vanish during the winter?

While some animals actually do leave (i.e., migration), others use different survival strategies. Many of these strategies involve some type of dormancy. Some examples include diapause, brumation, torpor, and famously, hibernation. Though these are all similar in some ways, they have unique characteristics that set them apart from one another.

To some, the differences may seem trivial or semantic in nature. "Torpor, schmorpor, I'm just jealous I can't sleep in for three months!" (We hear you.) But to the animals that rely on the strategies for survival, the differences can be significant (imagine trying to wake yourself back up as an ectotherm)!

We hope everyone had a fantastic winter break and got to catch up on some sleep!

Infographic illustrated, designed, and written by R. L. Nevinczenko.
Winter scene photographed by Sebastian Beck via Pexels (Pexels license).

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