Just Another Little Living Miracle

Arctic Ground Squirrel

Sam has become infatuated with the Arctic ground squirrels.  Several burrow beneath the Arctic Circle signpost on the Dempster Highway, and Sam has introduced herself to them all (on leash, of course). 

The First Nation peoples of Canada call the Arctic ground squirrel “tisk-tisk,” the sound an Arctic ground squirrel makes when it is alarmed. 

The squirrels live in burrows under the ground. They line their nests with grasses to help them keep warm during the winter. On the last day that they enter their burrow for the long winter months, they block the entrance with dirt.

During an Arctic winter, the temperature in the squirrel's burrow can drop below 0° Fahrenheit. Most mammals would die in temperatures that cold, but the Arctic ground squirrel is an amazing little animal. 

In the summer, the Arctic ground squirrel has the same body temperature as humans. Scientific research has proven that during hibernation the squirrel's body temperature drops from 98.6° F to 26.4° F. 

While water freezes at 32° F, somehow, the Arctic ground squirrel doesn’t freeze. This little squirrel reaches the lowest known body temperature of any living mammal. Scientists don't know why the Arctic ground squirrel doesn't freeze solid in such cold temperatures. 

Every so often during the winter, the Arctic ground squirrel wakes up and shivers until his body temperature rises to 70° F. Then it goes back into hibernation. Scientists believe that the squirrels somehow use this method to remove any substances from blood and tissue that would cause ice crystals to form. 

It is a long winter in the Arctic, sometimes lasting six to seven months. During hibernation, the squirrels do not eat or drink. When spring comes in late March or early April, the Arctic ground squirrel comes out of his burrow, proving once again that he’s just another little living miracle.