Question: how do animals adapt to there homes why do bears sleep a long time when the hibernate

Lydia Bach answered on 17 Nov 2014:

Hey,

so bears sleep for such a long time during winter, when there is little food around to survive. When they sleep their core temperature drops and all their body functions are very low. This allows them to survive for even over 8 months without food and water, with only the fat stores they have.
– Interestingly to save energy they also recycle their urine and other chemicals in their body – so they don’t pee for months at a time.

Animals adapt to where they live in different ways. Many animals must be tolerant of different temperatures, like bears which hibernate to deal with the cold winter. Other animals like seals have a thick layer of fat called blubber to survive.
In warmer climates animals can hide from heat in burrows, but also have adaptations like large ears, which helps the heat from dissipating of them. Many of these animals have also very efficient kidneys to save and recycle water!
Some animals also have to be tolerant of chemicals: for example flamingos that live in soda lake, which are very alkaline. They can drink the hot and salty water and need little fresh water!