Arctic ground squirrel Archives

Human Hibernation Research - Arctic ground squirrel

One of the most fascinating aspects of the natural world is how different animals survive the winter. Hibernation allows various animals to enter a state for weeks or even months in which their body functions slow down, and they return to normal when warm weather arrives. Researchers in medical science are exploring ways to induce human hibernation. Besides enabling long space journeys, it could also be very useful in treating heart attacks and strokes.

Among the animals being studied are Arctic ground squirrels and grizzly bears. Arctic ground squirrels have a body temperature of 99 degrees F (37 °C) from April to October. From October to April, their body temperature drops to 27 degrees F (-3 °C), and their heart rate can drop as low as one beat per minute. A hibernating brown bear doesn’t experience such drastic temperature changes. The bear’s temperature drops to around 90 degrees and stays at that level from November to March, then rises back to summer levels. The bear undergoes a 5-month period of torpor that conserves energy and supports normal functions. For female bears, this includes giving birth and nursing cubs.

The effectiveness of these and other hibernation strategies is clear. Small animals like squirrels can’t store enough body fat to survive the winter, but bears can accumulate enough fat to sustain them for five months. Bears lose this weight so that when they emerge from the den at the end of winter, they are very lean and very hungry.

Medical scientists are investigating how to induce human hibernation because it could extend the window for critical care of stroke and heart attack patients. The research focuses on how humans might benefit from changes in body temperature to fight various diseases. Like everything else, we aim to develop medical treatments by learning from what God has already created.

References: nationalgeographic.com and wikipedia

Squirrels in Arctic areas seem to have a hibernation technique which could be described as suspended animation. Arctic ground squirrels (Urocitellus purryii) go into a state of deep torpor breathing once a minute with a heart rate of five beats per minute. Every two to three weeks, the squirrels revive for 12 to 24 hours, but they don’t eat, drink, or eliminate during that time.

Researchers from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, have found that hibernating Arctic ground squirrels have skeletal muscle breakdown, releasing nitrogen to compensate for lack of food. Even though this is happening, the squirrel’s total muscle mass doesn’t change. It appears that they have protein stored up to handle their needs, but scientists are trying to understand where and how that protein is made available. This is another designed characteristic that allows life to exist in the Arctic.

Realize that there are unique problems in an ecosystem that is shut down for eight months. The design of larger animals allows them to migrate, and caribou herds go great distances to survive the Arctic winter. The migration of salmon into Arctic waters is another provision for animal survival. The salmon become food for Arctic animals, and their bodies become fertilizer so plants can grow in an area with virtually no soil.

Smaller animals have a big problem because they can’t migrate, and their plant-based food sources have a very short growing season. It appears that Arctic ground squirrels are a vital link in maintaining the balance of food and plant growth. The squirrels bury seeds so new plants can grow, and they provide a nutrient source for predators like wolves and wolverines. The complexity of how they do this has led to a whole new area of biology with its own magazine–Nature Metabolism.

Scientists are researching the Arctic ground squirrels’ metabolism to understand how this complex system works. Whatever the biochemistry involved, it is highly complex and strongly supports the belief that God designed life forms to survive even in a col d environment.

Reference: Nature Metabolism December 7, 2020 and Science News for January 30, 2021, page 10.

Tag: Arctic ground squirrel

Human Hibernation Research

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