The struggle for survival, or What animal feeds on the bark of trees in winter?

From time immemorial, the cold season brings certain adjustments to the living and non-living nature. In many regions of the globe, the establishment of cold weather is accompanied by snow falling and rather low air temperatures. If for people the winter season is a natural phenomenon, tolerable and expected, for many animals this is a real test for survival, which requires a maximum of skill and a certain amount of preparation. The animal world in winter can be called without exaggeration a dangerous race: only the strongest retain their positions.

Winter "strength test"

Mother nature itself determines how and when to "test the strength" of their children. And all because winter and animals from time immemorial are in a complex relationship with each other. But time passed, the epochs changed several times, and the evolution of the animal world placed all the dots over the "i": many representatives of the fauna during this period adapted to survival in a harsh climate. For example, while some animals are moulting, during which they discard the "summer" fur and acquire "winter", other animals prepare for the forthcoming colds, stocking up with "food" and building a refuge for themselves in the winter.

Winter dream

The life of animals in winter is a real struggle for survival! But only ways of such a struggle have their own. For example, badgers, bears and raccoon dogs in summer try to accumulate as much as possible subcutaneous fat, thanks to which they can survive the severe cold. To accumulate a sufficient amount of fat reserves these animals will be able only if the year turned out to be favorable and yielding. Before the onset of cold weather, they prepare burrows (like badgers) or lairs (like bears) and go to rest, falling into winter sleep. By the way, these animals sleep very sensitively. There were times when hunters did not even have time to get to the bear's den, as the beast heard them through a dream and ran away from there.

Do you want to survive in winter? Feed on the bark of trees!

What animal do you think feeds on the bark of trees in winter? Of course, the herbivore! And it is not one. Virtually all herbivores in the cold eat only the bark of trees, since they have nothing to eat. In the winter forests of Russia it is used mainly by hares. It should be noted that their winter feeding is very monotonous: twigs and bark of young trees (and shrubs). In severe frosts hares often leave the forest and in search of food settle in the gardens that are nearby. That is why horticulturists are recommended to trample down the snow next to the young fruit trees, wrapping their trunks. This will save the culture from raiding rabbits.

What animal feeds on the bark of trees in the winter, except for hares? It's moose. But, unlike the hares, they do not ruin gardens and orchards. They prefer to feed in coniferous and mixed forests. Basically, these animals eat up bark of aspen, birch, willow, alder, rowan. Love moose and thin ends of young branches, and even shoots of coniferous trees. Curiously, these shoots they eat together with green needles. The elk bark is ripped off with its long teeth. Often in severe cold, the bark on the trees is very frozen, and the animals have to work hard: they have to scrape it off. Sometimes this leads to a soft lip injury or tooth loss.

Who else in the winter eats bark of trees?

In addition to rabbits and moose, the beavers love the young tree bark in winter. By the way, this is not surprising. The fact is that the whole life of beavers is connected with trees. From the branches and bark these rodents make their own supplies for the winter. This happens at the bottom of these or other reservoirs, because it is there that the wood "delicacy" keeps its food properties to the maximum until February. Beavers live by families and build so-called huts in the water - permanent dwellings. That their houses are not washed off by the current, rodents from time to time strengthen the dam. If fodder reserves for one reason or another begin to run down in winter, then hungry beavers can pozaritsya and own dams. But this happens quite rarely, because these animals harvested up to 70 cubic meters of wood per family for the winter!

From predators to herbivores!

It should be noted that elk, hares and beavers are not the only answer to the question: "What animal feeds on the bark of trees in winter?" The above-named animals are, rather, leaders in eating tree bark. In addition to them, you can recall the boar, which also likes to chew on the trees. Moreover, even some members of the dog family eat the bark. Here everything depends on the condition of the animal in the winter. Sometimes even the most ardent predators can not find more tolerable food than a tree bark. It is known that wolves, who are the destroyers of wounded and sick animals, become scavengers in winter. But in a particularly unfavorable period they turn into "herbivores": in order to survive, they are forced to crack cones, tear the frozen berries under the snow and, of course, rip off the bark from the trees.

Someone has to leave

Despite the fact that the animal feeds on the bark of trees in winter, and which - hibernates, some representatives of the fauna do not experience severe colds due to natural causes. When predators go hunting, elk, hares and other herbivores have a chance to survive the winter, unfortunately, significantly reduced. And all because every creature in nature is a link in the food chain, and herbivores are the best food for predators in the winter. Here, the presence of a tree bark has little to decide. This is such a severe - this natural selection.