The Complete List of Animals That Hibernate in Winter

Across chilly mountains, temperate woodlands and frost‑touched grasslands, many species adopt quiet strategies to survive the lean months: retreating to burrows, slowing metabolism, or entering extended sleep. Observing these behaviors helps explain how ecosystems reboot each spring and why some animals vanish from plain sight during winter.

There are 41 Animals the Hibernate in Winter, ranging from Alpine marmot to Yellow-bellied marmot. For each species you’ll find below the data organized into columns: Scientific name, Hibernation type, Months — a quick way to compare true hibernators, facultative hibernators and short‑term torpor users before you dive into the full list you’ll find below.

How is true hibernation different from short-term torpor?

True hibernation is a prolonged state of reduced body temperature and metabolic rate lasting weeks to months, while torpor is shorter (hours to days) and often used daily for energy savings; many species use a mix depending on climate and food availability.

Can hibernating animals wake up during winter and what triggers it?

Yes — animals periodically arouse to forage, groom, change position, or maintain body systems; arousals are typically triggered by internal cycles, temperature fluctuations, or disturbances and help balance energy stores with physiological needs.

Animals the Hibernate in Winter

Images and Descriptions

Groundhog

Classic North American hibernator that spends months in an insulated burrow with dramatically lowered metabolism and body temperature, waking occasionally. Timing depends on local winter severity and food stores.

Arctic ground squirrel

One of the deepest mammal hibernators, it can supercool tissues and drop body temperature below freezing while spending many months in extended torpor in tundra burrows.

Yellow-bellied marmot

Mountain marmots enter long winter hibernation in communal burrows, lowering heart rate and body temperature for up to half the year; alpine populations hibernate longer than lowland ones.

Alpine marmot

High‑altitude European species that hibernates collectively in burrows through long winters, relying on fat reserves and social insulation; emergence tracks snowmelt and alpine plant growth.

Eastern chipmunk

Small woodland rodent that undergoes prolonged hibernation but regularly arouses to eat cached food. Body temperature and metabolism drop substantially during months spent in underground nests.

Hazel dormouse

A small European rodent that hibernates tucked in leaf nests or burrows for many months, entering deep sleep to conserve fat and avoid cold; vulnerable to habitat loss.

Edible dormouse

Known for very long hibernation periods in European woodlands; may hibernate up to seven months or more in tree cavities or burrows, emerging when summer food returns.

European hedgehog

Hedges down in leaf litter or compost heaps and sleep for months with slowed heart and respiration. Poor body condition can cause early arousal or failure to survive winter.

Little brown bat

Plethora of North American bats spend winter in caves, mines or buildings, lowering metabolism and body temperature for months; they periodically arouse and are sensitive to disturbance and disease.

Big brown bat

Common in buildings and caves, these bats hibernate through cold months in clustered roosts with long torpor bouts, conserving fat until insect prey returns in spring.

Tri-colored bat

Small insectivorous bat that hibernates in caves and mines; populations have declined in some regions due to white‑nose syndrome which disrupts long winter torpor.

Common pipistrelle

Widespread in Europe, this small bat uses roof crevices, buildings and underground sites to overwinter in extended torpor, with periodic arousals tied to temperature and disturbances.

Brown bear

Large bears den for months with lowered metabolism and body temperature but retain the ability to wake, move, and reproduce; often called winter dormancy rather than true deep hibernation.

American black bear

Black bears enter prolonged denning with reduced heart rate and fasting, but maintain higher body temperatures than small hibernators and can be active during milder winters.

Alpine newt

This European amphibian becomes inactive in ponds or under mud during cold months, slowing metabolism and resuming activity when water temperatures rise in spring.

Common frog

European frogs brumate in mud, under leaf litter, or at pond bottoms; they slow breathing and metabolism but remain able to respond when temperatures moderate in spring.

Wood frog

Remarkable North American amphibian that actually freezes solid during winter; its tissues tolerate ice formation and life resumes on thaw, a unique form of prolonged dormancy.

American toad

Overwinters buried below frost line or in leaf litter, reducing metabolic rate for months. Toads use soil or debris as insulation and become active with warming in spring.

Common newt

European newts leave ponds to overwinter under logs or in soil, entering slow metabolic states for months and returning to water to breed in spring.

European adder

This viper uses communal hibernacula (rock crevices or mammal burrows) to brumate through cold months, emerging in spring to bask and forage.

Garter snake

North American garter snakes gather in large dens to brumate, reducing metabolism and often emerging en masse when temperatures rise, a striking spring event.

Prairie rattlesnake

Rattlesnakes overwinter in communal dens, lowering activity and metabolism for months, and rely on warm spring days to become active and hunt.

Slow worm

A legless lizard in Europe that brumates under rocks or in compost heaps, significantly slowing physiology through winter and resuming feeding in spring.

Common lizard

Widespread in cooler European habitats, it brumates communally in burrows or vegetation, surviving long cold periods by reducing metabolic activity.

Box turtle

North American box turtles dig shallow burrows or hide in leaf litter to brumate, depressing metabolism and heart rate but remaining capable of brief activity on warm days.

Painted turtle

These turtles overwinter submerged in pond mud with very low metabolic rates, absorbing oxygen through skin and surviving months without feeding.

Woodchuck

Also called the groundhog, it hibernates in burrows for months, showing classic drops in body temperature and metabolism; emergence is famously linked to folklore about spring timing.

Siberian chipmunk

This Asian chipmunk hibernates in burrows for the cold months, reducing body temperature and relying on stored food to survive periodic arousals.

California ground squirrel

In colder parts of its range it hibernates in burrows; in milder coastal areas squirrels may remain active or use shorter torpor bouts.

Mountain pygmy‑possum

Endangered Australian marsupial that hibernates for many months under snow, relying on fat reserves and cached food; timing corresponds to Southern Hemisphere winter.

Echidna

In cooler Australian habitats echidnas enter extended hibernation/torpor in burrows, slowing metabolism for weeks to months during the Southern Hemisphere winter.

Bombus terrestris queen

Bumblebee queens undergo diapause in soil or sheltered spots after mating, surviving winter dormancy alone before emerging in spring to start new colonies.

Harlequin ladybird

These ladybirds gather in large groups and enter reproductive diapause, surviving winter in sheltered sites with greatly reduced activity until spring.

Gypsy moth (egg)

Gypsy moth eggs remain dormant through winter as a protective stage, hatching in spring when temperatures rise and food becomes available.

Colorado potato beetle

Adults burrow into soil and enter diapause to survive cold months, resuming feeding and reproduction when temperatures allow in spring.

Praying mantis (egg case)

Mantid eggs in their protective ootheca remain dormant through winter, hatching when warmer conditions return in spring or early summer.

Common poorwill

A rare example of an avian species that can enter long, multi‑week torpor states during cold spells and sometimes undergoes extended dormancy that resembles hibernation.

Antarctic midge (larva)

The world’s southernmost insect larva survives Antarctic winter by entering prolonged diapause and tolerating freezing, relying on physiological antifreeze and slow metabolism.

Common toad (Europe)

European toads brumate underground or in compost, slowing metabolism for months. They emerge in spring to breed, timing arrival with pond thawing and temperature increases.

Brown long‑eared bat

European bat that hibernates in buildings and caves, often roosting singly or in small groups and vulnerable to disturbance during long winter torpor.

Great crested newt

Spends winter in terrestrial refuges or mud, reducing activity and metabolic rate for months, then returns to breeding ponds in spring for reproduction.

Other Hibernation Periods