Do Squirrels Migrate in Winter? Or is it Hibernation?

If you have squirrels in your backyard, you might have noticed that they disappear in winter. An annual occurrence nevertheless, this disappearing act of squirrels makes people wonder whether they hibernate, like bears and hedgehogs, or migrate like hummingbirds and Arctic terns, to deal with winter?

Squirrels do not migrate. Period. If they are not to be seen for a considerable period during the cold season, it's because they spend the entire time either hibernating or simply resting in their drey. Hibernation has more to do with food shortage than extreme weather.

So the species have two options: (i) revive your fat reserves; or (ii) store food for winter. In contrast, animals migrate from one place to another primarily in search of food.

● Squirrels prepare for winter well in advance either by reviving their fat reserves―the hibernating species, or by collecting food and storing it in different places―the species that do not hibernate.

Interestingly, those species that go with the second option, prepare three to four food stores, but don't mark them. Instead, they rely on their sharp nose, which helps them detect food stores in the ground even when it is covered with snow, to find it.

● As for hibernation, that will depend on which species you are taking into consideration. Most ground squirrels hibernate.

Note that all these species are found in areas where winter is extreme as a result of which, food availability becomes an issue.

● During hibernation, these squirrels lower their body temperature to a few degrees below the ambient temperature in their burrow. As they rely on fat stores in their body for energy, they lose a lot of weight by the time they resurface.

The case of chipmunks though, is a little different. They do resort to hibernation, but don't store fat like other hibernating species. Instead, they wake up every few days and feed on stored food. And when they wake up for feeding, they also bring their temperature back to normal.

Experts seem to be divided over the question of hibernation in squirrels, with some of them saying that they do not hibernate, but instead enter a form of dormancy known as torpor. Both hibernation and torpor are characterized by low body temperature, low metabolic rate, slow heart rate, and slow breathing. It is the time frame that sets them apart.

While hibernation can go on for months or as long as winter lasts, torpor lasts for a short period; a few weeks at the max. (Also, there is a concept called daily torpor, where the animal undergoes dormancy for a part of the day.) In essence, torpor is as good as a shortened version of hibernation.

Like we said in the beginning, not all squirrels hibernate. Some of them are active throughout the year, only taking short breaks when a significant fall in temperature makes things unbearable. They start preparing for winter in fall by collecting and storing food in their dreys.

So, they never really face the problem of food shortage which is associated with winter, and considering that scarcity of food is one of the main reasons why animals resort to hibernation and migration, these squirrels don't have to resort to either.