Rodents & Their Wily Winter Ways

 

Shared by Kim Bailey

Naturalist

kim.bailey@nashville.gov

Photographs courtesy

Winter Survival in Rodents

Every winter when the thermometer dips into the thirties, I find myself wondering how animals survive the cold. As I prepared for a program on rodents this week, I spent some time delving into their winter survival strategies.  Did you know that hibernation is more about avoiding times when food is scarce vs. sleeping away the cold? Let’s compare rodents to understand that concept.

Squirrels and chipmunks take advantage of feeding stations to survive the winter months.

For squirrels and chipmunks, food is plentiful throughout the winter.  Chipmunks have extensive burrows where they store nuts. In the northern states with extended freezes, they might sleep awhile, then stir and eat from their larder, then go back to sleep. On warmer days they might venture out to forage. This behavior is more accurately known as estivation. Here in Nashville, chipmunks are more likely to forage much of the winter. The ones in my yard have way too good a food source (my so called “bird” feeders) to sleep for long!

Squirrels retreat to cavities or nests to stay warm during winter nights.

During the day, squirrels actively feed on tender tree buds, nuts and seeds. They, too, find bird feeders a tempting, free buffet! They build nests or use cavities in trees (sometimes moving into old woodpecker nests) to stay warm. Usually solitary, they might even share their nest with another squirrel for the added warmth when it is cold. 

Mice remain active throughout the winter and will seek shelter in structures.

Mice are active year round too. In winter, people often find mice in their habitats! Mice are clever creatures and know that it is warmer in a house than in the forest and they will take advantage of any structure they encounter to find shelter. 

A sight you won't see in the winter: a ground hog out and about. They are tucked in their burrows hibernating.

The only common Tennessee rodent that hibernates is the groundhog. Again, let's think about hibernation in terms of food availability. Groundhogs love to eat herbaceous plants: grasses, flowers,  and even garden veggies - foods less likely to be found in the middle of winter. Better to cuddle up in a burrow and sleep away this time of food scarcity than to deal with the cold and hunger. 

Rodents are intelligent, adaptive creatures that have proven over millions of years that they can survive. Their winter survival strategies are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to their biological and behavioral adaptations. To learn more about these fascinating creatures, check out our Remarkable Rodents webinar this Saturday!

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