1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:09,600 Speaker 2: Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Vogel Bomb here with a classic 3 00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 2: episode from our archives. But with the weather turning colder 4 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:16,759 Speaker 2: here in the Northern Hemisphere, I was thinking about all 5 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:19,560 Speaker 2: of the cold blooded critters out there that depend on 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:23,959 Speaker 2: sunlight and warm temperatures to keep their bodies going. Here 7 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:26,240 Speaker 2: are some of the ways that they survive the winter. 8 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:31,000 Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff, I'm Lauren Vogelbomb, and you and I 9 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:33,559 Speaker 1: can complain about seasonal chills all we want, but at 10 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:36,960 Speaker 1: the end of the day, we're basically walking furnaces. Humans 11 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:40,840 Speaker 1: are endotherms, meaning that our bodies produce heat internally. We're 12 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:43,320 Speaker 1: also able to maintain a body temperature that stays more 13 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 1: or less constant, so we should count our blessings. Not 14 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:50,080 Speaker 1: all animals have these physiological advantages. Apart from a handful 15 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:52,920 Speaker 1: of species like the monstrously big leather back sea turtle, 16 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:56,080 Speaker 1: very few reptiles or amphibians are able to keep their 17 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:59,080 Speaker 1: bodies at a constant temperature, and since they can't warm 18 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:02,480 Speaker 1: themselves up, these creatures must extract heat from their environment. 19 00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 1: But what happens when that environment gets colder? Out of 20 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:08,840 Speaker 1: frogs snakes and turtles make it through the winter months 21 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:11,600 Speaker 1: in places that see blankets of snow, ice over lakes, 22 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: and sub freezing temperatures year after year. A lot of 23 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:20,160 Speaker 1: reptiles and amphibians undergo periods of extreme seasonal inactivity. When 24 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:23,080 Speaker 1: the weather gets colder. They may experience decreased heart rates, 25 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:27,880 Speaker 1: slowed metabolisms, and lower overall body temperatures. Scientists disagree over 26 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:30,160 Speaker 1: what to call this state. Everyone accepts that it's some 27 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:33,679 Speaker 1: kind of dormancy, but while some experts classify it as hibernation, 28 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:38,080 Speaker 1: others refer to it as brumation. Dormant snakes generally hold 29 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:40,840 Speaker 1: themselves up in winter dens. These shelters may take the 30 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:43,720 Speaker 1: form of an abandoned rodent burrow, an exposed crevice on 31 00:01:43,760 --> 00:01:47,200 Speaker 1: a rock face, or some naturally occurring hole underneath a tree. 32 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:50,240 Speaker 1: Various snakes have also been known to turn household basements 33 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:54,320 Speaker 1: or garages into winter lodges in seasonally cold areas like 34 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:57,600 Speaker 1: Canada and the northern United States. Snakes must choose their 35 00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:01,080 Speaker 1: dens with care. Ideally, a winter hangout spot will descend 36 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:04,280 Speaker 1: below the local frost line, the maximum depth beneath the 37 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:07,720 Speaker 1: ground at which soil freezes. Hiding out underground is the 38 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:10,440 Speaker 1: survival strategy of choice for lots of tortoises and turtles 39 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:13,799 Speaker 1: as well. Some species, such as the gopher tortoise, dig 40 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:15,960 Speaker 1: their own burrows, but it's not uncommon to find to 41 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:21,200 Speaker 1: the shelled reptiles occupying pre dug unoccupied rodent holes. Now 42 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:23,720 Speaker 1: a hibernating black bear can sleep for more than one 43 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:27,440 Speaker 1: hundred days straight without consuming any food or water. Reptiles 44 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:30,919 Speaker 1: tend to be more active during hibernation or breamation. When 45 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:33,440 Speaker 1: a midwinter warm spell comes along, they'll use it as 46 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:35,799 Speaker 1: an opportunity to crawl up to the surface, bask in 47 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:37,679 Speaker 1: the sunlight for a little while, and maybe grab a 48 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:41,640 Speaker 1: quick drink. Reptiles are perceived as loners, a reputation that 49 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:46,000 Speaker 1: isn't entirely deserved. Consider the Eastern diamondback rattler, who doesn't 50 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:49,280 Speaker 1: seem to mind collaborating with gopher tortoises. Members of both 51 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:53,840 Speaker 1: species will sometimes go dormant together inside the same burrow. Likewise, 52 00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:57,240 Speaker 1: snakes often share their dens with other snakes. Garter snakes 53 00:02:57,240 --> 00:02:59,800 Speaker 1: are famous for hibernating in huge groups that may consist 54 00:02:59,840 --> 00:03:03,440 Speaker 1: of hundreds or even thousands of individuals. One Canadian den 55 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:07,560 Speaker 1: reportedly contained no fewer than eight thousand snakes. Indiana Jones 56 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:10,600 Speaker 1: and other videophiles will want to keep their distance as 57 00:03:10,639 --> 00:03:14,600 Speaker 1: snakes go. Garters are remarkably cold tolerant. One species can 58 00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:17,840 Speaker 1: even survive the unbelievable experience of having forty percent of 59 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:21,240 Speaker 1: the liquid water inside its body freeze solid, but only 60 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:23,360 Speaker 1: if it's allowed to thaw out after a few hours. 61 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 1: But the wood frog takes freeze tolerance to a whole 62 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:30,120 Speaker 1: new level. A North American native, this cold weather warrior 63 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:32,520 Speaker 1: has the distinction of being the only amphibian in the 64 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:37,440 Speaker 1: Western hemisphere whose range extends into the Arctic Circle. Every autumn, 65 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:40,200 Speaker 1: wood frogs bury themselves under a thin blanket of leaf 66 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:43,280 Speaker 1: litter on the forest floor. There they will remain dormant 67 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:46,200 Speaker 1: for up to eight months. In the process, the heart 68 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 1: temporarily stops beating and the frogs enter a state of 69 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:52,320 Speaker 1: suspended animation. Left to the mercy of the elements. The 70 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:56,800 Speaker 1: amphibians freeze at temperate and polar latitudes. Fortunately, the liver 71 00:03:56,840 --> 00:03:59,600 Speaker 1: pumps loads of glucose into the bloodstream, while urine is 72 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,480 Speaker 1: retained than the body. All that helps keep the cells 73 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 1: from drying out, which is what would normally happen during 74 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:09,680 Speaker 1: the freezing process. Therefore, a full sixty five percent of 75 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:11,720 Speaker 1: all the water in a wood frog's body can become 76 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 1: frozen and the amphibian will still live to rib it 77 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:17,880 Speaker 1: another day. Moreover, the frog may be kept frozen at 78 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:21,279 Speaker 1: negative eighteen degrees celsius or about zero degrees fahrenheit, for 79 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:26,239 Speaker 1: as long as two hundred and eighteen days. Another example 80 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:28,880 Speaker 1: of this cool survival strategy can be found in far 81 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:32,440 Speaker 1: North Russia. The Siberian salamander lives in areas that get 82 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:35,719 Speaker 1: temperatures of negative fifty degrees celsius that's negative fifty eight 83 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:40,160 Speaker 1: fahrenheit or lower. To stay alive, it hibernates underneath logs, vegetation, 84 00:04:40,279 --> 00:04:43,840 Speaker 1: and snowbanks. A compound in their bloodstream keeps the critters 85 00:04:43,839 --> 00:04:46,240 Speaker 1: alive when the majority of its body water turns to ice. 86 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:51,039 Speaker 1: Terrestrial amphibians with poor digging skills, like the wood frog, 87 00:04:51,279 --> 00:04:54,200 Speaker 1: tend to either hibernate in pre existing burrows or fine 88 00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:57,719 Speaker 1: shelter at ground level. Good burrowers, such as the American 89 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:01,479 Speaker 1: toad and spotted salamander, proactive dig winter holes from themselves 90 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:06,280 Speaker 1: that extend below the frost line. For aquatically inclined amphibians, 91 00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:09,880 Speaker 1: there's another option. Bullfrogs are lake and pond denizens who 92 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:12,719 Speaker 1: find oxygen rich bodies of water and spend their winters 93 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:16,240 Speaker 1: imprisoned under the surface of ice that forms there. Painted 94 00:05:16,279 --> 00:05:20,000 Speaker 1: turtles employ a similar strategy. Reptiles generally use their lungs 95 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:23,039 Speaker 1: to breathe, but some semi aquatic turtles can also absorb 96 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:27,479 Speaker 1: water born oxygen through their skin overwintering. Painted turtles do 97 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:30,800 Speaker 1: this extremely well, Plus they can lower their metabolic rates 98 00:05:30,839 --> 00:05:33,360 Speaker 1: to the tune of ninety five to ninety nine percent 99 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:36,599 Speaker 1: each winter. That's how they stay alive beneath thick sheets 100 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:39,400 Speaker 1: of lake ice for months on end. Sometimes you can 101 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:43,240 Speaker 1: even see them swimming around under the frozen barriers. But 102 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:45,760 Speaker 1: why go through the hassle of skin breathing when you 103 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 1: can turn your snout into a snarkel. In January of 104 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:51,880 Speaker 1: twenty eighteen, the Internet was greatly amused by some North 105 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:54,960 Speaker 1: Carolina alligators whose noses were seen poking up out of 106 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:58,320 Speaker 1: a frozen pond. Gators can't survive being trapped in icy 107 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:00,599 Speaker 1: water for much longer than a week or so. For 108 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:03,599 Speaker 1: long term winter lodgings, they construct deep burrows out of 109 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:11,880 Speaker 1: waterside mud. Today's episode is based on the article Weird 110 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:15,600 Speaker 1: Ways Reptiles and Amphibians Survived the Winter on HowStuffWorks dot Com, 111 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:16,839 Speaker 1: written by Mark Mancini. 112 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:19,480 Speaker 2: A brain Stuff is production of ihart Radio in partnership 113 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:21,960 Speaker 2: with how stuffworks dot Com, and it's produced by Tyler Klang. 114 00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:25,480 Speaker 2: Four more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 115 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:28,320 Speaker 2: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.