Cold, winter weather is a problem for both man and beast. Each species has its own ways of dealing with the cold. Some animals hibernate through the winter months, but that is rarely an option for humankind. People and animals come up with some ingenious ways to battle the cold.
Human Strategies
People mostly rely on technology to keep themselves warm. They also borrow from the animals, especially when it comes to clothing such as fur and down feathers. However, one of the great advances in the past decades has been the increased quality of insulation in homes and businesses. This can be better understood by speaking with insulation contractors Maryland. Spray insulation provides a high R-value for a home and can be installed quickly and cleanly. It’s a great way for humans to stay warm this winter.
Avian Solutions
Birds inhabit just about every environment on the globe, from the tropics to the dark, cold ice of Antarctica. How do penguins stay warm, for example? The truth is they have multiple adaptations to help with the cold:
- Four layers of overlapping feathers
- Thick layers of body fat
- Communal living arrangements
- Small feet and beak
- Special veins and arteries
By huddling with other penguins, they can stay out of the wind. Smaller feet and beak offer less surface area to lose heat.
Mammal Methods
A number of mammals handle winter by avoiding it, and many people probably wish this was an option, too. Hibernation is a common strategy for bears and a few other mammals. Thick fur helps squirrels survive sub-freezing temperatures, whole marine mammals such as seals use a thick layer of fat to ward off the icy seas. Perhaps the ultimate resident of the cold is the polar bear, which uses a combination of thick, insulating fur over a warming layer of fat.