They seal their shells with mucus, reducing water loss and metabolic activity Desert tortoises estivate to escape the scorching heat of their arid habitats. They burrow underground, where the ...

As you can see in this YouTube video, when their environment becomes too dry for survival, lungfish burrow deep into the ground to estivate—a process similar to hibernation. This behavior keeps ...

In other places, it’s winter that kills. Here it’s summer. To survive, we go to ground. “Estivate” is the word. A zoology term, it means “to pass the summer in a dormant or torpid state.” ...

These magnificent beasts, Smithsonian’s National Zoo informs us, tend to estivate—”pass the summer in a dormant state,” per Webster’s New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition—when it gets too hot ...

They hibernate or estivate to save energy and conserve moisture. These unique creatures produce mucus to seal their shells, protecting them from predators and extreme weather. They awaken only ...