In the predominant number of representatives of the animal world, a mating season takes place in spring and summer, and autumn passes under the sign of preparation for the onset of winter cold. Preparing for winter for animals living in fairly cold latitudes is a matter on which, without exaggeration, life depends. Many of them have their own, individual ways to spend the winter. We will talk about this below.

How do most animals prepare for winter?

The most important task is to prepare enough food supplies for the winter. Some animals, such as babaks, field mice and chipmunks, have been dealing with this issue since the end of summer. The hot summer is still reigning, and they are already looking for various nuts and seeds with might and main, prudently hiding them in their hole. So many animals do not make any reserves, but simply eat a lot and gain enough fat that will allow them to overwinter. Their main concern during the autumn months is to consume as much food as possible. Such animals include bears that sleep all winter in a pre-insulated den, badgers, hedgehogs, and even bats. All of these mammals hibernate for the winter, as it is almost impossible for them to find food during the cold season. In many warm-blooded animals, an autumn molt occurs - this is a change from short summer fur to thicker and warmer. Hares, foxes, wolves, squirrels also shed and change their fur.

In addition, hares and squirrels also change the color of their clothes - they become lighter to camouflage in the snow. Birds also molt in autumn, they grow new feathers. Many birds for the winter simply fly away to warmer climes. Beavers, hedgehogs, squirrels and bears are carefully preparing their homes for the winter - they insulate and strengthen it in all possible ways, drag dry leaves, branches, moss there. The life of the animal will also depend on the reliability and security of the home in winter. Foxes, hares and wolves, with the exception of changing their coats, do not especially prepare for winter, as they do not hibernate and spend the entire winter period in search of food. Wolves gather in large packs with the advent of winter, and foxes endure great frosts in their burrows.

How cold-blooded animals hibernate

Cold-blooded animals include amphibians, reptiles, and insects. They survive the winter period in an inactive state. A few months before the onset of cold weather, certain changes occur in the body of a cold-blooded animal. Insects, such as mosquitoes, also store fat for the winter. Ants build large anthills for wintering. An interesting fact is that in the body of ants, beetles and many other insects in winter a special substance is produced that allows you to endure even the most severe frosts. Due to it, in a state of winter dormancy, the body maintains metabolism. In insect cells, the amount of fluid decreases. Almost all frogs, turtles, snakes and lizards go into hibernation, also called suspended animation.

With the approach of cold weather, numerous inhabitants of the forest begin to prepare for wintering. In the process of evolution, representatives of the animal world have developed certain ways to help them survive severe frosts and lack of solar heat. In addition, most animals also suffer from a lack of food in winter, especially herbivores, although predators also have a hard time.

All living beings have certain features of survival in winter, and this applies not only to animals, but also to perennial plants.

For example, it is well known that bears in the cold season hibernate until spring, however, this method of wintering is not unique to them. In the same way, hedgehogs, badgers, hamsters and many other living creatures prefer to “sleep through” the winter, so in winter nature seems to freeze in anticipation of the onset of more favorable conditions for life.

However, many animals that live in forests remain quite active in winter, although, of course, they have to significantly reduce their energy consumption compared to the warm season.

For example, moose try to move much less in winter, use tree branches and bark for food, and look for young shoots of plants that can be hidden under the snow. Of course, the plant world is scarce in winter, so moose lose weight, often live from hand to mouth, however, this does not prevent them from successfully wintering.

Foxes, hares and other animals warm up with the onset of winter, grow thicker wool, which allows them not to freeze even in severe frosts. In addition, during severe frosts, the instinct tells animals to burrow deeper into snowdrifts, because snow helps maintain the required body temperature.

Finally, it should be mentioned how plants hibernate, because without this the description of the winter forest will be incomplete. Trees are protected from frost with thick bark, many plants hide from the cold under snow cover, some plants die off, leaving only a viable rhizome from which a new plant will grow in spring ... As you can see, our nature is wise and diverse, it can adapt to any weather conditions, and the task of a person in this situation is to do everything possible to protect wildlife, first of all, those animals and plants that are listed in the Red Book.

Video: Winter. Winter fairy tale. Seasons. Winter forest (Relax.)

Walk through the winter to the music of Francis Lai (Francis Lai)

Beautiful photos and pictures of winter nature:

The fox is a predatory animal, but very attractive. A fluffy tail, a narrow muzzle and small intelligent eyes make the animal beautiful, regardless of the season.

Foxes are amazing creatures, it is not for nothing that in many fairy tales and epics they are assigned the role of the main character. But do we know everything about these smart and beautiful animals? For example, do you know how they prepare for winter? Is it true or not that the fox changes the color of its coat in winter? If you find it difficult to answer, then our article will be most welcome.

Preparing for winter

Like most arctic foxes, the fox is well adapted to the cold, snowy winter, which means it is found in many parts of Russia.

How does an animal manage to survive the cold winter? The fox is a dexterous animal, it is unpretentious and easily gets used to any conditions.

She is a predator, but in winter she can eat vegetables or berries found under the snow. Hunting for rodents gives a good result, so foxes are not afraid of hunger in winter.

Nature has made sure that the metabolism by winter becomes minimal, since the ability to feed themselves in winter with a fox is reduced to a minimum. Subcutaneous fat warms and nourishes the body. Otherwise, there are no special preparations for winter.

The fox does not change its color for winter, but its coat is unrecognizable, it becomes thicker, brighter and fluffier. The paws of the fox are also covered with thick hair, so it does not freeze in the snow. The red-haired beauty moves quietly through the snow-covered fields, as if in felt boots.

Why does the fox not change its color for the winter? Why did nature decree that all animals prepare for winter, but the fox does not? Even among scientists there is no consensus on this matter. Although, the fact is obvious that the fox's fur coat turns from gray into fiery red. In steppe foxes in winter it is gray - yellow, in those that live to the north - with red.

How does a fox behave in winter

In late January - early February, the time for mating games begins for the fox, but she continues to find food for herself and remain safe and sound under any circumstances.

During this period, foxes, or rather their yapping, can be heard from afar. They are very mobile, excited, they can travel long distances, even if there are bitter frosts in winter.

In winter, the fox feels good in the forest, although it does not change color, but it does a great job of confusing the tracks when leaving its holes. In addition, you can bathe a fur coat in the snow, its color will become even brighter. The red color is striking on the white snow, but the animal has no fears in this regard, it feels comfortable, does not change its habits and survives even in the coldest and snowiest winters.

There is no doubt that the fox is perhaps the most common animal in the northern hemisphere, except for it, only the wolf is such a common predator. Semi-deserts, steppes, broad-leaved and taiga forests, tundra, high-mountain regions - it seems that there is no place where this animal does not live. And if the fact that the fox does not change color in winter was decisive for it, their numbers would sharply decrease from year to year.

Foxes are preparing for winter, but in their own way. They move to hunt in places with tall grass, in which you can easily hide.

The peculiar color of the fur is the best match for the color of dry autumn grass, which is abundant in meadows, valleys, edges, clearings and fields. In winter, mouse-like rodents hide in it, so foxes love to hunt in these places. And withered grass in the winter fields, tall marsh grasses, shrunken weeds have the same brown-red color as the fur coat of a predator.

At the end of winter, the red cheat is already less attractive. The thing is that she begins to shed, and instead of a luxurious coat, there is a rare fur that seems rough and ugly.

We talked about the fox, and now it's time to find out how her closest relatives prepare for winter, do they change color?

What does the polar fox look like in winter

These animals are preparing for the winter thoroughly, the main thing is that they change the color of their fur coat in a drastic way. In December, the color of the Arctic fox fur becomes dazzling white, and this is no coincidence.

All animals whose habitats are located north of the Arctic Circle prepare for winter in this way, otherwise they will not survive. Indeed, in the northern latitudes there is no dry grass visible from under the snow, and they will not be able to hide from large predators.

This is how nature intended it. Some animals are preparing for winter, others are not, but this does not prevent them from leading a normal, active lifestyle.

Animal behavior in winter can change

Not all inhabitants of the forest or steppe remain active in winter. There are those who prepare for winter not by changing their coats, but by changing their biological clock. You probably know that some animals hibernate. This is a hedgehog and a bear. Therefore, they have nothing to stock up for the winter, the main thing is to find a secluded place, without dampness and drafts. The hedgehog drags moss and dry grass into the mink, the bear settles comfortably in the den. Before the onset of winter, these animals consume many times food in order to saturate their bodies until the end of the cold.

The wolf's coat remains the same color as in summer or autumn, but its density and length increase noticeably. Thanks to this, the wolf can sleep in the snow even in severe frosts. He sleeps during the day and goes hunting at night.

In winter, wild animals have a hard time. Everyone has their own plan for how to survive the winter, they prepare in different ways for severe frosts. Someone is stocking up on food, someone is changing clothes, and someone is preparing a warm home for themselves.

How squirrels prepare for winter

Squirrels prepare for winter throughout the year. They stock up on nuts, acorns, mushrooms, berries, cones, as they eat only plant foods. They carefully dry the obtained food on branches, stumps and put it in their dwelling. Squirrels overwinter in hollows, but do not hibernate. They do not tolerate frost well, so they spend most of the winter time in their houses. Squirrels equip the hollow in advance with tree bark, moss, found feathers, etc. In winter, squirrels change their color from red to grayish, in order to mask.

How beavers prepare for winter

Beavers prepare their homes in advance. They can place it at water level or underwater. To do this, they demolish sticks, branches, which are skillfully tied with algae, grass or held together with clay. The house built by beavers under the ice is warm and safe. They do not freeze in the water in winter, because their fur coat is waterproof. Beavers pre-prepare their food for the winter. In winter, they do not hibernate, but reduce their activity, while being supported by food.

How badgers prepare for winter

Winter for badgers is a difficult period in life, they do not tolerate low temperatures. The beginning of autumn for badgers is characterized by the preparation of housing and the collection of food for the winter. In order to survive the winter, they equip their hole with grasses, branches, moss, etc. From food, they stock up on nuts, acorns, plants, seeds, etc. They are sensitive to frost. The winter is spent passively in a hole, eating stocks.

How do rabbits prepare for winter?

Hares do not equip holes and do not stock food for wintering. They endure severe frosts on their paws. As a disguise, starting in autumn, hares change color from gray to white. This gives them the opportunity to camouflage themselves from predators against the backdrop of snow. Well, if a wolf or a fox noticed him, he quickly tries to escape. Winter behavior also includes digging temporary burrows in snow or hay. In such holes, he rests and gains strength.

How foxes prepare for winter

Preparing for winter begins with warming your coat. Their coat becomes thick, downy, bright. It perfectly protects them from severe frosts. The fox lives in burrows all year round. Often a place for digging a hole is some kind of hill. So that the fox could survey the entire forest. If she moved far from her hole and a strong snowstorm began, the fox may temporarily settle in another abandoned hole. Before returning to the hole, she carefully confuses the tracks. The fox does not make stocks for the winter, but regularly goes hunting. Most often, rodents become its prey. For lack of meat, she can eat found berries or vegetables. Nature is so complicated that in winter, the metabolism of foxes is reduced. Subcutaneous fat is wasted on warming them in severe frosts. Furry paws allow foxes to move silently when hunting prey. The fox is resistant to severe frosts.

How do wolves prepare for winter?

Wolves endure winter easily. By cold weather, their coat becomes longer and fluffier. It keeps them warm in extreme cold. Often they run out onto roads, trails to facilitate their run. Wolves have a characteristic feature - association in a pack. In a flock, they easily catch prey within a radius of 30-60 km, then eat it together. On average, a pack consists of 7-12 wolves.

How do bears prepare for winter?

With the arrival of autumn, the bear is puzzled by the search and preparation of housing for the winter. An ideal option for a den is a crevice in a mountain, a hole in the ground. He carefully insulates it with branches, foliage, moss, etc. Before falling into hibernation, the bear eats subcutaneous fat at an accelerated pace. This fat is gradually wasted during the winter. In moments of thaw, the bear may wake up for several days and start looking for food.

Wild animals prepare and endure the winter in different ways. Someone lives through severe frosts in motion, someone outlasts them, hiding in their home, while others hibernate. Nature competently distributed features to all animals.

Municipal Autonomous Preschool Educational Institution Kindergarten No. 11 "Fairy Tale" of the combined type of the urban district of the city of Kumertau of the Republic of Bashkortostan

LESSON SUMMARY

BY THEME: How animals prepare for winter.

Prepared by the teacher

Saklakova Larisa Vladimirovna

Kumertau

Program content: To form ideas about the forest as a habitat for wild animals, and about the ecological pyramid; to consolidate the concepts: wild animals, herbivores, predatory animals; where wild animals live, what they eat, how they prepare for winter; to develop the ability to compose stories on the topic “How animals prepare for winter”, to cultivate a caring attitude towards the forest and its inhabitants, drawing up an ecological pyramid.

Preliminary work: conversations with children about the forest ,

comparison of wild and domestic animals,

comparison of herbivores and carnivores,

a conversation about how wild animals prepare for winter,

viewing illustrations of wild animals,

guessing riddles about wild animals, reading stories about animals

Material: Object pictures (wild animals), plot pictures (how animals prepare for winter), colored pencils, paper.

STUDY PROCESS

(Children stand in a semicircle)

TEACHER: Today, children, I decided to read you an excerpt from E. Trutneva's poem "Autumn".

It suddenly became twice as bright,

Yard as in the sun -

This dress is golden

At the birch on the shoulders.

In the morning we go to the yard -

Leaves fall like rain

Rustle underfoot

And fly, fly, fly...

What time of year is the poem talking about?

Children's answers (About autumn)

Name the autumn months.

Children's answers (September October November)

How do you understand the expression "leaves fall like rain"?

Answers children . Falling leaves are coming.

What are the signs of autumn?

Children's answers: In autumn the sun shines, but warms weakly. The day is getting shorter than the night. The sky in autumn is gray, overcast, gloomy. The leaves on the trees become colorful. The leaf fall begins. Migratory birds fly away to warmer climes, while wintering ones stay with us. Wild animals are preparing for winter.

TEACHER: What wild animals of Bashkortostan do you know?

Children's answers: Fox, bear, hedgehog, squirrel, wolf, elk, hare, wild boar, lynx.

Educator: Why are these animals called wild?

Children's answers: Because they live in the forest and people don't care about them. Because they take care of themselves and live in the wild.

Educator: children, I propose to remember where wild animals live in the forest. (A didactic game "Who lives where")

TEACHER: Where does the squirrel live? (squirrel lives in a hollow).

Where does the bear live? (the bear lives in a den).

Where does the fox live? (The fox lives in a hole).

Where does the wolf live? (The wolf lives in a lair).

Where does the hedgehog live? (the hedgehog lives in a nest of leaves).

Where does the moose live? (The elk lives in the forest thicket).

Educator : Well done, children, do not forget how wild animals have adapted to live in the forest without the help of man. What season comes after autumn?

Children's answers: (After autumn comes winter)

Educator: That's right, after autumn comes winter. Winter is a very difficult, cold season. In winter, it is very difficult for wild animals in the forest: it is cold, there is little food. Therefore, wild animals are preparing for winter. But first, let's do a warm-up, we, the children, also need to get ready for school. Finger gymnastics is being carried out: "Animals that we can show."

Children come to the board, on which there are pictures of wild animals.

Oh, listen, someone is knocking on our door. Quiet. I'm gonna chech it. Children, this Dunno came to us. He says he also wants to know how the animals prepare for winter. Shall we tell the stranger? Sit down, Dunno, make yourself comfortable and listen.

Children, I give you a magic ball that can record our conversation. Then we will give it to Dunno, suddenly he will forget something, bring it to his ear and hear your stories again. Pass the ball carefully, slowly. As soon as you hear the word stop, start a story about how wild animals prepare for winter.

The teacher holds a ball and tells how moose hibernate: moose go far into the thicket of the forest, where there are a lot of bushes and deadwood, where the cold wind subsides and it is easier to endure the cold, where it is difficult for predatory animals to get through. Dense fur prevents predators from advancing in dense deadwood and elks hibernate in safety.

The teacher passes the ball to the children.

CHILDREN: Squirrel makes stocks for the winter in summer and autumn, hides cones, nuts, dried mushrooms in his forest pantries. She arranges forest pantries in an old hollow, which was left by a hardworking woodpecker. The squirrel's coat color and thickness change in winter.

Hare changes the gray fur coat to a white, warmer one. He does this to keep warm in winter and to be invisible in the snow. After all, the bunny has a lot of enemies. This is a fox, and a wolf, and an owl, and a marten. If in the summer the hare nibbled grass to its heart's content, and in the fall he ate juicy cabbage and carrots, then in winter it is hard for him, only the bark of trees and branches of shrubs sticking out from under the snow remain.

Hedgehog in the autumn he eats heartily in order to accumulate a lot of fat under his prickly coat, because in winter he hibernates and he needs to sleep peacefully all winter. The hedgehog chooses for itself a convenient hole, or a small hollow, somewhere under a sprawling tree, wraps itself in leaves and falls asleep, waiting for it to be covered with snow.

BEAR you also need to eat well, accumulate more fat under the skin so that you can sleep peacefully all winter. The bear arranges a lair for himself in a small ravine, heaping a tree on it and throwing it with dry deadwood. Gets inside and falls asleep. When snow falls and the ravine falls asleep, the bear becomes warm and comfortable.

TEACHER: Guys, the fox and the wolf are not preparing for winter, why are these animals not preparing for winter? (they are predators and therefore they are always looking for food).

Yes, it is not easy for wild animals to be in the forest in winter. Well, Dunno, get a magic ball and run, tell what you learned. Children, Dunno thanked you, say goodbye to Dunno.

It's time for us to play.

Physical education:

Hares are jumping hop-hop-hop!

Yes, on a little white snow,

Sit down, listen -

Is the wolf coming?

Once - bent, unbent,

Two - bent down, stretched,

Three nods of the head, stood up, jumped to the side. They stood, looked and sat down.

TEACHER: Come to the tables. Children, wild animals have prepared mushrooms for you. Treat - wild animals were allowed to give tea to the one who names the words - definitions for animals. (Children say - which one, which one, choosing pictures with a wild animal on the board, removing the pictures after answering).

TEACHER calls the children. Children give definitions:

Squirrel - caring, hardworking, troublesome, nimble, dexterous.

Hare - cowardly, timid, shy, white, gray,

Bear - clumsy, clumsy, clumsy

Hedgehog - prickly, brave, courageous, bold.

Lynx - dexterous, quick, bold, sensitive.

Moose - big, strong, fast, herbivorous

The wolf is fast, angry, gray, toothy.

Fox - beautiful, fluffy, cautious, cunning, fast.

Educator: Children, name the herbivorous wild animals of Bashkortostan. (Hare, elk, squirrel).

What wild predatory animals of Bashkortostan do you know? (wolf, fox, lynx, hedgehog).

Do you think there should be fewer predatory animals than herbivores or more?

Children's answers : Predatory animals should be less.

Educator: Such relationships are expressed in the form of various pyramids, which are called “ecological pyramids”.

In order for herbivores to eat, there must be more blades of grass than herbivores. Therefore, the strip with grass is longer than the strip with herbivores, and there are fewer herbivores than grasses. Well, herbivores are not averse to eating predators for lunch. They are bigger and stronger and need to eat a lot of herbivores. So in the forest

there must be more herbivores than carnivores in order for everyone to have enough food. This is where the pyramid comes in. The bottom line is that in order for everyone to have enough food, there must be more grass than herbivores, and more herbivores than predatory wild animals. (An ecological pyramid is laid out on the board).