Into the Woods with Curio: What do Animals Wear in the Winter?

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Colossians 3:12

Have you put on your winter clothes yet? Dug out the winter ‘woolies’ and scarves, hats, mitts, coats and boots? It takes a lot of layers to stay warm during the cold months of winter in Canada. The animals found at Beacon have been getting their winter ‘clothing’ ready for some time.

Snowshoe hares grow thicker, white coats in winter not just to stay warm. It’s so they can’t be seen by foxes and other predators. If you have ever tried to find a snowshoe hare in the winter you’ll know it works! Come spring their fur changes back to a mid-brown colour.

The foxes at Beacon have grown more fur, making them look very different from the slim-looking animals seen at camp during the summer. Their new winter coats are wonderfully thick and insulating, designed to see them through the winter storms and snow. The same is true of many of the furbearers that make Beacon their home, such as mink, otter, weasel and fisher. All of these animals can stay active throughout the winter because of their thick winter coats.

The birds that don’t migrate add more feathers – 35 to 70% more – during their fall moult, to help them endure winter’s cold. Research on goldfinches reveals that these small seed-eaters, (they only weigh about 13 grams, or ½ an ounce!) have almost 1,000 more feathers in the winter. This allows them to endure temperatures as low as -70C for six or more hours, experiments have shown. While the temperatures never get that low even at camp, it demonstrates how incredibly insulating their feathers are.

But what about a bird’s bare legs and feet? How do they keep them warm?

Chickadees have a way of keeping their feet functional, despite the cold. Even though a chickadee’s feet stay at just above freezing to conserve heat and energy consumption, scientists have found these low temperatures don’t cause any damage to the tissues in their feet. This is possible because their feet have “a continuous blood flow”. The warm blood flowing into the feet through the arteries is cooled by the returning blood in the veins from the feet. This same ‘system’ is what helps ducks keep their feet from freezing when swimming in frigid cold water, and while on the winter ice.

Barred owls have feathers on their feet, right down to their toes, to keep them warm. Ruffed grouse also have feathered legs, and do something else to help them deal with winter -- they grow snowshoes! Called pectinations by scientists, these small, comb-like scales grow along the outside of their toes in the fall. This allows the grouse to walk on top of the snow during the winter. In spring these small scales just drop off. Ruffed grouse also burrow into snow banks to make use of the snow’s insulating properties, and to avoid being eaten, it has been determined. Unlike their cousins, the ptarmigan, which live in the arctic and higher elevations in the mountains and turn white in winter, ruffed grouse stay the same dark brownish-gray colour. This dark colouring makes them stand out in the snow, so they use the snow itself as camouflage.

God has provided these amazing adaptations to help these animals make it through a northern winter. We are encouraged to clothe ourselves in another way, to help us show the warmth of Jesus’ love in this world.