Warm Winter Wildlife

Frogs, toads, and salamanders make up the group amphibians here in New England. Since these animals can hop or crawl to a warmer climate, they need to bury themselves down into the earth deep enough to hopefully make it through the challenging times ahead. In the case of some of our frogs that live in Hubbard pond, some will find mucky areas along the shore to burrow into, while others may actually bury themselves down in the muck at the bottom of the pond. That’s a long time to hold your breath.

In the reptile department, snakes will also find places to bury down into the soil and ride out the cold season there – a pretty tough thing to do without arms or legs. The pond turtles, who also breathe air like you and me, will find another mucky place somewhere deeper in the pond and just settle in. There is a small opening near the base of their tail, with blood vessels close to the surface, which actually allow oxygen to move from the water to the bloodstream – wow! A few turtle species may actually stay active in some of the deeper parts of the pond, or in local streams, feeding and swimming (and probably shivering too).

It’s very interesting to think about the variety of local animals we have, and how they deal with surviving through the winter months. We’re still learning about many of them, and how they have developed ways to conserve calories, produce anti-freeze, or otherwise cope with the challenges that the New England winter deals them.

Posted by Bob Speare