105 - The First Thing Every Animal Does When Spring Arrives

About this episode

This episode explores the first actions of various animals as spring arrives, highlighting their behaviors after winter hibernation.

Spring fever is real — and it turns out every creature in the natural world has it too. In this episode I'm exploring the very first thing each animal does the moment winter releases its grip. From frogsicles thawing in vernal ponds to bumblebee queens hunting for a home underground, nature wastes absolutely no time. Frogsicles and Spring Peepers Wood frogs freeze solid over winter — no heartbeat, no breathing, just ice crystals in their body held together by glucose flooding from the liver. When they thaw, the first thing they do is head straight for a vernal pond to breed. Spring peepers, barely bigger than your thumb, do the same on the first rainy 42-degree night. Turtles, Bears, and Groundhogs Painted turtles spend winter buried in mud, breathing through their skin. When they surface, their first priority is warmth — they can't even digest food until they soak up enough sun on a log. Black bears emerge already having given birth during hibernation, now needing to rebuild the 30% of body weight lost. Groundhog males emerge weeks before the females — not to predict weather, but to map territory and locate burrows before the females arrive. Birds on the Move Red-winged…

People in this episode

Host: Jill McKinley

Topics covered

• animal behavior
• spring activities
• hibernation
• nature
• wildlife

Keywords

• spring fever
• frogsicles
• turtles
• bears
• groundhogs
• red-winged blackbirds
• robins
• sandhill cranes

Mentioned in this episode

Places: vernal ponds, mud, marsh, lawns, wetlands

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