FEATHERS. FUR AND FAT 
     
    
   
   
    
     by Anne Landry, Haskesiu Lake, Saskatchewan 
     
    
   
   
    
     As fuel prices soar, we are becoming more aware, 
     
     and more concerned with energy conservation, no more 
     
     so than during the winter months. Watching a fox trot 
     
     across a frozen dune in January quickly makes it 
     
     apparent that we are not alone in being affected by 
     
     the cold. For animals it is not just a matter of 
     
     paying the fuel bills, but of life and death. All 
     
     animals have special adaptations which help them con— 
     
     serve energy in winter and thereby help them to sur— 
     
     vive Canada's cold climes. Some birds and mamnals 
     
     avoid the rigours of winter by migrating south or 
     
     hibernating, but many remain active. Animal signs give 
     
     clues to the energy-saving adaptations of the Island: 
     
     hardy winter residents. 
     
     A single line of dog-like tracks in deep snow; the 
     
     sign of a fox. To save energy, a fox puts its hind 
     
     foot in the hole made by its larger front foot, just as we tend to use the tracks 
     
     made by the person in front of us, whether walking or skiing through deep snow. 
     
    

    
     A hare doesn't sink down, even in deep snow. Its large snowshoe feet are 
     
     excellent energy savers. 
     
    

    
     Looking closely at a set of ruffed grouse tracks, we notice that they appear 
     
     fuzzy around the edges. As these birds don't come equipped with snowshoes, small 
     
     comb-like projections grow on their toes each fall which help the birds make 
     
    

    
     , headway in deep snow. (These crazy birds seem to prefer walking to flying.) 
     
    

    
     Open fields in winter become dotted with small holes in the snow. No tracks 
     
     in or out, just the holes. These are ventilation shafts from tunnels dug by mice 
     
     and voles which live underneath the snow most of the winter. It is a dark, silent 
     
     world they inhabit, hidden from predators, where the snow keeps them warm. Air 
     
     spaces in the snow enable the temperature at the ground's surface to remain 
     
     fairly constant around -7°C while the air temperature may plunge to ~30°C. (We 
     
     employ the same principle with storm windows which have a layer of dead air 
     
     between them.) 
     
    

    
     Natch birds closely on a cold day. Feathers provide excellent insulation 
     
     and help retain more body-heat when fluffed up. 
     
    

    
     Most animals look healthiest in the fall and early winter, fat from summer's 
     
     bounties. The fat insulates against the cold and is also a source of energy when 
     
     food is scarce. No fall diets for them. 
     
    

    
     After a cold night, holes the size of small balloons appear in snowbanks, 
     
     often accompanied by a pile of seats. 1A night's roost for a ruffed grouse, using 
     
     the insulating power of snow to pass a cold winter's . 
     
     night. 
     
    

    
     The animals which make long gliding, or large 
     
     circular tracks, borrow many of the above adaptations 
     
     to help them survive winter. They wear down jackets 
     
     and several layers of clothing which trap insulating 
     
     air, wear skis or snowshoes to travel through deep 
     
     snow, and camp out in snow huts or quinzees, just 
     
     like a grouse in a snowbank. 
     
    

    
     Winter is undeniably our harshest season, but 
     
     by using tips from the animals, we can all enjoy it. 
     
    
   
   
    
     7.