Hibernation is a state of inactivity and metabolic depression in endotherms.

Hibernation refers to a
season of heterothermy characterized by low body temperature, slow breathing and heart rate, and
low metabolic rate. It is most commonly observed during the winter months. Although traditionally
reserved for "deep" hibernators such as rodents, the term has been redefined to include animals
such as bears and is now applied based on active metabolic suppression rather than any absolute
decline in body temperature. Many experts believe that the processes of daily torpor and hibernation
form a continuum and utilize similar mechanisms.[1][2] The equivalent during the summer months
is aestivation.
Often associated with low temperatures, hibernation functions to conserve energy when sufficient
food is unavailable. To achieve this energy saving, an endothermic animal decreases its metabolic
rate and thereby its body temperature.[2] Hibernation may last days, weeks, or months depending on
the species, ambient temperature, time of year, and the individual's body condition. Before entering
hibernation, animals need to store enough energy to last through the duration of their dormant
period, possibly as long as the entire winter. Larger species become hyperphagic, eating a large
amount of food and storing the energy in fat deposits. In many small species, food caching replaces
eating and becoming fat.[3]
Some species of mammals hibernate while gestating young, which are born either while the mother
hibernates or shortly afterwards.[4] For example, female polar bears go into hibernation during the
cold winter months in order to give birth to their offspring. The pregnant mothers significantly
increase their body mass prior to hibernation, and this increase is further reflected in the weight of
the offspring. The fat accumulation enables them to provide a sufficiently warm and nurturing
environment for their newborns. During hibernation, they subsequently lose 15–27% of their pre-
hibernation weight by using their stored fats for energy.[5]
True hibernation is restricted to endotherms; ectotherms by definition cannot hibernate because they
cannot actively down-regulate their body temperature or their metabolic rate. Still, many ectothermic
animals undergo periods of dormancy which are sometimes confused with hibernation. Some reptile
species are said to brumate, but possible similarities between brumation and hibernation are not
firmly established. Many insects, such as the wasp Polistes exclamans, exhibit periods of dormancy
which have often been referred to as hibernation, despite their ectothermy.[6]