Aestivate (Verb)
Meaning
Sleep during summer; "certain animals estivate".
Classification
Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care.
Examples
- Some animals, like turtles and crocodiles, aestivate during hot and dry summer months to conserve energy and stay safe.
- Hedgehogs often aestivate for short periods to survive extremely hot summer days.
- Frogs and toads are known to aestivate in burrows beneath the soil surface during especially harsh summers.
- To cope with extreme heat and water scarcity, some species of fish aestivate in mud or sand.
- Certain land snails will aestivate by sealing themselves in their shells to prevent water loss and stay safe until the temperatures drop.