Punxsutawney Phil is best known for his ability to “forecast” whether there will be six more weeks of winter each year. (3) Few people are aware, however, that groundhogs like Phil provide science with even more important information throughout the year. That’s because groundhogs are hibernators. (4)Many animal species, like Phil, enviably spend the winter hibernating including bears, woodchucks, bats, hedgehogs, lemurs, and some squirrels.
Hibernators curl (5)there bodies into tight balls and slow their breathing and other bodily functions to a near standstill that would kill other mammals. For months they remain in a state of suspended animation. (6) Their bones and muscles do not atrophy, and they awaken in spring completely healthy. Some animals even hibernate while pregnant, giving birth upon waking in the spring. In the case of hibernating squirrels, these creatures can lose up to 60% of their blood volume and survive at least 10 hours.
Scientists at several universities including the University of Wisconsin School of
Veterinary Medicine have studied hibernators for clues about how their functions might be mimicked in humans to improve our health or ability to treat disease. For example, if doctors were able to prevent human bone and muscle from atrophying during periods of inactivity they could help patients better recover from immobilizing illness or injury. Other possibilities include:
Surviving traumatic injury Compared with summer squirrels or non-hibernating species, during the hibernation season ground squirrels are more resistant to the damaging effects of ischemia-reperfusion injury, when blood loss to an organ is interrupted and fresh blood is subsequently restored to the ischemic area. Hibernators can also survive massive blood loss much longer than non-hibernators, by maintaining their blood pressure even if they lose blood at rates that would send other animals into shock and death. Understanding how they do this may help humans better survive massive blood loss.
Preservation of organs for transplant Currently, a human liver harvested and placed in cold storage remains (7) viable for no more than 12 hours. Yet, the organs of hibernators naturally experience long periods when their organs have low blood flow and are cooled to cold storage temperatures. Studies have confirmed that livers harvested from hibernating ground squirrels survive extended periods of cold storage much better than do livers from summer squirrels or non-hibernating species. If researchers can one day understand and replicate this ability it may improve our ability to preserve and transport organs for transplant.
Weight regulation and appetite suppression Animals eat enough through the spring, summer and early fall to sustain their normal metabolism and to lay down fat for the winter. But just prior to hibernation they are able to “turn off” their appetites and fast for several months. Understanding how they do this may help scientists understand how to help humans who cannot suppress their appetites even when they are full.
There are other research projects currently investigating how to achieve a mild state of “induced hibernation” in humans.
The ability for humans to hibernate would be useful for a number of reasons, such as saving the lives of seriously ill or injured people by temporarily putting them in a state of hibernation until treatment can be given. These are excellent examples of what scientists mean when we talk about (8)“comparative physiology.”

I’ve written a lot about what I have learned from my animals. I also think it’s really neat to see what my daughter Gabi, who is now four years old, learn from them.
We have several dogs, cats, and horses here at the farm, and also a couple of bunnies. I believe we could even count the neighbor’s chickens as ours, because they do spend most of their time here with us. Gabi has grown up with animals, so from an early age (11) she learned to respect
(12) them and treat them kindly. The dogs are big dogs, so their mere size made it important that there existed mutual respect between them.
I’m no expert, but it seems to me that it was this mutual respect and understanding that made the foundation for the development (unless it is innate) of empathy. I once read somewhere that unless you had been shown
(13) compassion, you cannot be (14) compassionate. Children that learn to show compassion for animals, or are encouraged to, DO also show more compassion for their fellow humans.
Now, one thing that I find very fascinating with animals is their honesty. They don’t lie. Lying simply doesn’t exist to them. Yeah, they might steal stuff, as our dogs frequently do (our dogs are notorious thieves), but it’s not like they are going to lie about where they hid it. Of course, they eat what they steal most of the time, and rarely hide anything. Anyway, point being – they are in my opinion great “role models” when it comes to honesty.
I use animals as examples when talking to my daughter about things such as our bodies and nature. Animals have no shame when it comes to bodily functions. In my experience, we humans engrain our kids with
“shame” early in their lives when it comes to our bodies. Our own distorted views of ourselves are bound to affect our kids. “I’m fat.” “I’m ugly.” “Oh, no, I’m about to die of shame as I just farted in public.” When using the animals as examples, and how everything is all just natural, I can easily work through the awkwardness I initially felt when all of those subjects mentioned above, came up. Body parts, body functions – it is all so much easier explained when using animals as examples.
Through the everyday chores we do with the animals, which Gabi chooses if she wants to be a part of or not, she has learned to take good care of them all. (15) If she notices an empty water bowl, she will go fill it up on her own accord. The same goes for the feeding of our cats. It is such a natural thing to her. What I find really fascinating is that through watching her with the animals, I notice how closely she watches me. Down to the very last detail. This is a powerful reminder to me, when it comes to being a good example at everything in life.
All in all, I’d say that not only can animals be great friends for children, and help them develop empathy and compassion, but they can also be great teachers in a child’s life. Animals have a lot of wisdom, wisdom that the indigenous tribes of the world knew to appreciate. We have a lot to learn from animals, and as long as we parents can see that, our children are going to benefit.