How Do Animals Spend the Winter?

许乐

Winter is cold and it can be hard for animals to find food during winter. How do they spend the winter？ Actually， animals get through winter in many ways.

Would you like to go somewhere warm for the winter？ Thats what migrating① animals do. When the weather started to get cold， migrating animals， such as birds and butterflies， fly to a warmer place where they can find food， and then they come back in spring.

Another good way to get through winter is to sleep through it. Many animals hide during the winter. Their body temperature and heart rate slow down. This helps them to save their energy. They do not eat. They live on their fat. They do not wake up until the weather gets warmer. We call this hibernation②. Some animals like snakes and frogs hibernate in winter.

Many animals stay active in winter and adapt to the cold weather. Some animals live on the food they saved in summer and autumn. This is what squirrels do.

Some animals make changes in their bodies. To keep warm， some animals grow thicker coats and have more fat in their bodies. The bear is such an animal.

Some animals eat different kinds of food as the seasons change. The red fox eats fruit and insects in the other three seasons， but eats small animals in winter.

Many animals change color. The arctic③ fox is brown in summer. Its coat turns white in winter.

How do you live through the winter？ Do you wear a thick coat？ Do you stay inside？ Or do you live somewhere warm？