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Hyperphagia and what it means to Colorado. A Colorado State Open Thread, 8/22/2022 [1]
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Date: 2022-08-21
Picture taken on a hike from an extreme distance. This was likely a target of hyperphagia, not a practitioner.
The Colorado State Open Thread is for all those with an interest in Colorado, no matter whether you live here, visit here, or have any interest in our square(ish) state. I hope you enjoy the diary and are interested in contributing in the comments below.
What is hyperphagia and how is it defined? The word hyperphagia comes from the Greek term "hyper-" (which means abundance, excess) and from the term "-phagia" (which means to eat). That is, technically it translates as an increase in food intake, produced by an increase in appetite (although the cause may be another).
Now that the highest peaks have had their first snowfall of the winter season, this is the time of year when hyperphagia becomes an epidemic, especially in Colorado’s high country. Most of the time, when referring to hyperphagia in our human-centric world, it’s considered a bad thing and generally something to be avoided. In Colorado’s high country, however, while it’s a matter of life and death, it’s something to be admired and partaken in, mostly by our natural wildlife, as they prepare for the season that is long, but is very short on food unless it’s properly prepared for.
Bears are most famous for stocking up on food prior to going into hibernation but they’re certainly not alone. They forage 20 hours a day during this season, looking to eat 20,000 calories per day. My doctor certainly doesn’t recommend that diet, but it works for bears. They are omnivorous, eating berries, insects, grubs, meat and carrion they find, as well as any food they find in cars, trash cans, campsites, houses and picinick baskets.
Marmots spend over half their lives in hibernation. They enter their burrows in September to early October and don't emerge again until the following April or May.
Chipmunks hibernate in winter, but they don't sleep all the way through the season. They retreat to their burrows and wake every few days to raise their body temperatures to normal, feed on stored food rather than fat reserves, and urinate and defecate.
A bird like this hummingbird, small mobile mammals like bats and even some larger animals can’t put on the weight necessary with over-eating to last through a winter so they migrate to lower, and even southern locations, sometimes out of the US, to find food during the winter.
Large carnivores, like this mountain lion, keep hunting through the winter. Their food supply mostly stays in this area, but still, food supplies can get scarce.
A bobcat was initially hunting wabbits when it went from right to left, and then, once successful, it carried its prey when it went from bottom to top of the picture (partially dragging the (not) wascaly (enough) wabbit.
Deer remain local. They, along with many other animals that don’t migrate, still work to pack on the pounds so they have layers of fat for insulation and to provide energy when food supplies are harder to find in the winter.
Recently, elk have been following their historic migration routes down out of the mountains — in the case of many elk from Rocky Mountain National Park, they migrate down to fields around Loveland, though they can still be found in snow zones.
Other creatures have multiple ways of adapting, without having to over-eat or migrate. Here is one at Bird and Jim’s restaurant in Estes Park, on New Year’s Eve, eating outside in the middle of a snow squall.
They’re even known to store away food for lean times when the supplies aren’t as plentiful.
Some birds have adapted to using human generosity as a food source, though I have read only about 10% at most of a bird’s diet comes from feeders.
Even squirrels will take a free lunch where they can.
I don’t know if you practice Hyperphagia or not, but if you don’t, please find other ways to lay in a food supply for the winter season. Up here in Estes, we typically have snow on the ground for 7-8 months of the year. If you do need to pack on pounds, please contact me if you’re migrating into this area, even if just for a day or two, and I can see what I can do to help you out.
Please add any comments, observations or other ideas down below. The floor is yours...
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