How animals deal with the winter’s cold weather

Debunks idea that most animals hibernate, highlighting what else they do

With the help of 23 children and one Tyrannosaurus rex, the Royal Saskatchewan Museum auditorium was transformed into a story of what different animals do in the winter.

Hannah Dove, a gallery interpreter at the museum, narrated the Saturday afternoon show titled ’Twas the Night Before Hibernation. As part of the interactive performance, she called up 23 young volunteers from the audience to play the different animals — rabbits, chickadees, warblers, porcupines, moose and bears.

As she came to each animal’s part in the story, Dove had the kids act out what their animal did in the winter.

They didn’t all hibernate — only the bears did that.

The chickadees fluffed their feathers and huddled together for warmth. The warblers stretched to prepare for their long migration south. The rabbits changed colour to blend in with the snow and hopped around looking for food.

The porcupines sat up in a tree, eating berries and bark. The moose wandered about slower than usual to conserve energy.

And the T-rex, well, she got bundled up in a scarf and mittens.

Dove said the play gives kids something fun to do during their break from school while learning in a fun, interactive way.

“We cover hibernation, we cover migration, we cover camouflaging and all the other ways to survive,” Dove said.

“You’re getting kids out here learning about science and they can actually see what’s going on in the winter time. So they can look outside and see that the rabbits have changed colours. They can look at the chickadees and notice that they’re fluffier.”

People often assume that most animals hibernate during the winter, said Dove. She frequently hears that people think moose hibernate.

“They just think that any animal that they don’t really see in the winter, they hibernate, so it’s good to tell them no. Some of them just walk around, some of them sleep for a little bit, some of them full hibernate, some of them migrate,” she said.

“Frogs freeze completely solid — that’s my favourite one.”

The show runs Dec. 28 to 30 and Jan. 2 to 5 at 2 p.m. each day in the Royal Saskatchewan Museum’s auditorium.

BRANDON HARDER Hannah Dove, gallery interpreter for the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, reads to a person wearing a dinosaur costume as part of the ’Twas the Night Before Hibernation play in the Museum’s auditorium in its main building on Albert Street on Saturday.