Most people, if asked to name an animal that hibernates, would immediately say “bears”. Oddly enough, however, the only species of bear that truly hibernates, according to the precise meaning of the word, is the polar bear.  The black and brown bears more familiar to North Americans do not hibernate; they merely sleep a lot during the winter, a condition called dormancy. True hibernation is a deep sleep, a state of metabolic depression during which an animal’s temperature drops, its rate of respiration slows, and it neither eats nor releases bodily waste. Hibernating animals consume large amounts of food beforehand to add the body fat necessary for nourishment during their extended siesta and then retreat to a den, burrow or hollow log for protection and shelter. Once under, they are very difficult to arouse and can appear dead. Dormant animals, by contrast, may wake up a number of times during the season, eat, walk around, etc. before returning to sleep. Below is a guide to certain animals and whether or not they are true hibernators or just dormant impostors: