The thirteen-lined squirrel, aptly named for the thirteen stripes on its back, spends much of its time above ground dodging angry humans. But for several months of the year, it gets a reprieve: Like ...

Gut microbes give some squirrels a helping hand to stay strong during hibernation. The microorganisms appear to help the squirrels recycle nutrients to keep the rodents’ muscles taut, researchers ...

Hibernating ground squirrels stay in shape by recycling urea, the main compound in urine, with the help of their gut microbes. When animals hibernate, they enter a state of suspended animation, ...

The unique way that ground squirrels burn almost no energy when they hibernate -- with no loss of muscle mass -- has implications for space travel, biologists find. When bears and ground squirrels ...

Ground squirrels spend the end of summer gorging on food, preparing for hibernation. They need to store a lot of energy as fat, which becomes their primary fuel source underground in their hibernation ...