Rabbits and squirrels are warm-blooded animals, so do they hibernate?

More and more children nowadays like to keep rabbits and squirrels, but sometimes they ask whether these two kinds of animals hibernate? This leaves parents unable to answer right away. According to research on relevant mammal data, rabbits are mammals, and they are also warm-blooded animals, so they do not hibernate. Wild rabbits still come out of their burrows to forage in winter, often eating dry grass or grass roots covered under the snow. In addition, squirrels in the wild are a kind of hibernating animal. When autumn arrives in October, squirrels begin to stop eating, but they have already stored enough energy in their bodies, so there is no need to worry that they will go hungry. The hibernation process of squirrels only reduces their activity level, which is very important for warm-blooded animals like squirrels. Unlike cold-blooded animals, warm-blooded animals need to consume energy in their bodies during hibernation to maintain a certain body temperature. (Although at this time a squirrel's body temperature may almost drop to 0 degrees.) Generally, after 6 months, with the arrival of spring, squirrels will wake up from hibernation again. But for domestic squirrels, if you do not throw them out of the house in winter, they will not hibernate, because the house has heating and enough food, so they will still be active as usual.

Squirrel (top), rabbit (bottom)

Appendix: Rabbits

Rabbit is the general name for all genera under the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha in the class Mammalia. Commonly known as rabbits. Biological classification: Animalia, Chordata, Vertebrata, Mammalia, Lagomorpha.

Rabbits have long tubular ears (ear length is several times greater than ear width), a tufted short tail, and strong hind legs much longer than the forelegs.

There are 9 genera and 43 species in total. The greatest number of species is found in eastern and southern Asia, Africa, and North America, with a few species distributed in Europe and South America. Some species are widely distributed or have been introduced to many regions, while quite a few species have very limited distributions. They are terrestrial and are mostly found in deserts, desertified grasslands, tropical open woodlands, dry steppes, and forests or woods.

Appendix 2: Squirrels

Squirrel is a family in the order Rodentia of the class Mammalia, including the subfamily Sciurinae and the subfamily Xerinae. They are characterized by a long fluffy tail and a well-proportioned, agile body. According to different living environments, the squirrel family is divided into tree squirrels, ground squirrels, rock squirrels, and so on. Together with other closely related animals, they are also collectively called the suborder Sciuromorpha. Worldwide there are nearly 35 genera and 212 species, and in China there are 11 genera and 24 species, among which 2 species, the rock squirrel and the marbled rock squirrel, are endemic to China.

The fur on squirrels' ears and tails is especially long, allowing them to adapt to life in trees; they use hook-like claws and their tails to hang upside down from branches. At dawn and dusk, they also leave the trees and come to the ground to hunt for food. After finding abundant food in autumn, squirrels will use tree holes or dig holes in the ground to store fruits and other food, while blocking the entrance with soil or fallen leaves. Squirrels are generally mainly herbivorous, and their food is mainly seeds and nuts; they also eat fruits such as cherries. Some species eat insects, and some tropical species even migrate to prey on insects, and may even carry off young tit chicks.