11 February 2016 A Lesson on Hibernation

Journal

A Trip to the Museum

On Tuesday, we took a trip to the University of Alaska Museum of the North. Although we could not see Denali from that point on campus, I managed to take my first-ever panorama picture of the horizon, with the Alaska Range looming in the distance.

View from outside museum — This is the view from outside the University of Alaska Museum of the North. On the far horizon, the shadows of the Alaska Range are barely visible.

And I was very pleased to see several committed cyclists demonstrating that with good gear, we can brave winters much more severe than the ones in Chicago.

Super tough bicycle gear — This cyclist is ready for temperatures down to -20ºF!

Hibernation: How to Deal with a Cold, Hungry Winter

We learned a lot at the museum, but the coolest thing we learned about was the Arctic ground squirrel.

A hibernating ground squirrel! — The squirrel's body was cold to the touch! The researcher, Jeanette Moore, told us that when hibernating their body temperatures can drop below freezing!

I got a chance to interview a really cool researcher named Jeanette Moore, who conducts studies in Arctic ground squirrels and told us a lot of really interesting and exciting stories from the field researching these fascinating little mammals.