Hiding from winter
Amphibians are cold-blooded. Their bodies are just about as warm or as
cold as the air or water around them. So when winter comes, and the days
get colder, an amphibian’s body gets colder, too.
The amphibians try to get warm. Frogs and toads creep into deep holes
that they find or dig. Many kinds of newts and salamanders crawl beneath
logs, stones, or piles of leaves. Some salamanders and frogs dig into
the bottom of the pond or river in which they live.
The weather turns colder. The frogs, toads, and salamanders huddle in
their hiding places. Their bodies grow
It’s an Amphibian \
cold. They cannot move. Their breathing slows down and their hearts
nearly stop beating. They must stay this way all through the cold days
and nights of winter. And if their hiding places are not deep enough or
warm enough, their bodies will grow so cold that they will die.
When spring comes along to warm up the world again, the amphibians begin
to warm up, too. A few at a time they creep out of their hiding places.
Then you begin to hear the peep-peep of the tree frogs and the
chuggerum of the bullfrogs as the amphibians start their lives once
more.
