Tag: hibernation

How do chipmunks prepare for and live through winter?

Today’s post comes from Gabriel Argenti, a Discovery Student at Rondeau Provincial Park.

As winter approaches, most wildlife undergoes seasonal changes or new habits.

Some animals prepare for the cold by storing food away, going into hibernation, eating to gain weight, growing a thicker coat. Others migrate south to warmer climates to wait out the season.

Let’s take a look at one animal in particular, the Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus), and see how they make it through the coldest time of the year.

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Underground, underwater or frozen solid: how do frogs & toads spend the winter?

This post was written by David LeGros, a park naturalist at Ontario Parks.

As the crisp fall days get colder and the occasional dusting of snow whitens the landscape, we know that winter is just around the corner. For the countless songbirds of our forests, they avoid our cold winters and lack of food by migrating south.

Other animals are adapted to the cold conditions and may grow a thicker coat of fur or feathers. Some, we think, have the enviable ability to sleep away the long Ontario winter by hibernating.

Continue reading Underground, underwater or frozen solid: how do frogs & toads spend the winter?

Slithering into fall: hibernation for Ontario’s reptiles

Today’s post was written by seasonal student Heather Van Den Diepstraten from Rondeau Provincial Park.

It’s not just students and birds on the move this fall.

As the cold weather approaches, reptiles are trekking across Rondeau Provincial Park in search of hibernacula (places in which wildlife overwinter). Researchers for Wildlife Preservation Canada are busy tracking the movements of snakes, turtles, and skinks within the park as they find suitable habitat for their hibernation.

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It’s October – what are Black Bears up to?

It’s getting a bit cold, there’s not much food anymore, and Black Bears are thinking seriously about having a long nap.

Black Bears in Ontario Parks start heading to the den by mid-October.

We know you have questions about Black Bears’ big sleeps, so let’s go through for FABQs (frequently asked bear questions):

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The turtle who swam off with my wedding ring

In today’s post, Brad Steinberg, our Natural Heritage Education & Learning Coordinator, shares the story of how he (kinda) proposed to a Blanding’s turtle.

It was September 30, the last day of trout season in Algonquin Provincial Park. I was trudging out a portage with a canoe over my  head when I saw it: a big, beautiful Blanding’s turtle, perched right on the edge of the old roadway.

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