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TRIVIA TODAY - Monday, March 7, 2011
Greetings Infomaniacs,
Sometimes during the winter, I wish I could be like an
animal that is able to hibernate. When it's cold and snowy
outside, I just want to burrow under the covers!
Unfortunately, I can't do that, but here are some mammals
that can...
Enjoy!
Melissa
Email Melissa: mailto:melissa@gophercentral.com
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TODAY'S MYSTERY QUOTE
QUOTE: ?Perhaps I am a bear, or some hibernating animal
underneath, for the instinct to be half asleep all winter
is so strong in me.?
HINT: (1906-2001), pioneering American aviator and author.
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RANDOM TIDBITS
The champion of hibernation is the Arctic ground squirrel
(Spermophilus parryi), a kind of cold-weather prairie dog.
It is the only mammal that can survive its body temperature
dropping below zero ? some have recorded body temperatures
as low as 26F, with their hearts beating less than five
times a minute. These squirrels are able to wake about once
a week to warm up for a few hours, and then they go back to
sleep again. It seems likely that these wake-up periods are
to enable essential maintenance of their vital organs and
to expel waste.
***
Only one bird is known to hibernate properly: the common
poorwill (Phalaenoptilus nuttallii), a North American
relative of the nightjar. It will spend most of winter in
a hibernated state covered in stones. Some hummingbird
species practice mini hibernation every night when their
metabolism drops and their body temperature almost halves,
to conserve energy.
***
Reptiles and amphibians can?t regulate their body
temperature like mammals, but cold weather can induce a
similar state of inactivity known as brumation (from Latin
bruma ''winter??), where they take to their burrows and do
very little. Low temperatures in southern Florida this year
have led to a spate of spontaneously brumating iguanas
falling from trees and lying motionless on the ground until
the weather gets warmer.
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
VIDEO CLIP
Panda Cub
Pandas are tranquil mammals that are native to China. They
spend their time eating bamboo, migrating to new dens and
sleeping almost 20 hours each day.
http://www.evtv1.com/player.aspx?itemnum=1916
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The only primate to hibernate is the pygmy mouse lemur
(Microcebus myoxinus) of Madagascar, discovered in 1994. It
weighs just over an ounce, is extremely promiscuous (its
testicles are bigger than its brain) and falls asleep at
the drop of hat. During the winter it hibernates properly,
feeding itself on fat stored in its tail.
***
Roughly half of all hibernating hedgehogs fail to reach the
spring. Some female bats wake up to discover they are
pregnant, having been impregnated in their sleep.
***
Technically, bears don?t hibernate as their body
temperature doesn?t drop much: instead they fall into a
"torpor." On the other hand, they are the only mammals
that don?t need to break their sleep. Their bodies recycle
their urine into protein and before they settle down for
the winter.
(From The Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/)
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*** Weekly Mind-Scrambler ***
I have legs but walk not, a strong back but work not, two
good arms but reach not, a seat but sit and tarry not.
What am I?
Submit your answer by visiting: http://gopherarchives.gophercentral.com/TheDailyTease.aspx
Answer will be posted in Friday's Trivia Today. Good Luck!
If your name appears in Friday's newsletter, EMAIL
michele@gophercentral.com your complete name and
address to be shipped your prize.
Be sure to put "Winner" in the subject line.
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QUOTE: ?Perhaps I am a bear, or some hibernating animal
underneath, for the instinct to be half asleep all winter
is so strong in me.?
ANSWER: Anne Morrow Lindbergh.
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