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RE: Geese have been found to reduce their heart rate, metabolic rate and body temperature during winter to save energy

in #nature7 years ago

One thing I always found neat in animals trying to protect themselves from the cold is counter current heat exchange. I remember learning that waterfowl have it in their feet as a means of protection from contact with the frozen water on which they walk. Basically, their blood vessels are arranged in such a way that the warm blood from their heart is flowing next to the cold blood at their feet. It is a neat feature I wish my fingers had in the winter! As always, great article and thanks for sharing @valth !

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You're right, and this is a very cool adaptation that some species have created to cope with the cold conditions. There are also many other cool adaptations to surviving the cold, such as having hollow feathers/fur, having extra layers of fat, have reduced size of feet and arms to reduce heat loss etc.