94 
ANIMAL CURIOSITIES 
coddling is not only detrimental to their 
health, but even induces illness. 
In spite of popular belief, it is quite a 
mistaken idea that animals from the tropics 
revel in very hot sunshine. The Indian tiger 
seeks the shade of the forests and jungles 
during the heat of the day, the elephant is 
also intolerant of the burning rays of the sun, 
while excessive heat has been known to cause 
the death of snakes. 
Many creatures undergo a prolonged period 
of rest or aestivation throughout the hottest 
period of the year, during which they remain 
in a dormant state; while in cold climates 
this state of affairs is reversed, hibernation 
or winter sleep being indulged in in order to 
escape the severity of the weather and, more 
important still, to enable them to tide over 
the time when food is scarce. During these 
periods of inactivity the creatures sustain 
life by absorbing into their systems the fat 
they have stored up in their bodies during 
times of plenty. 
Animals living in very cold countries are 
provided with thick fur, as well as a generous 
supply of fat underlying their skin, and it is 
owing to these provisions of Nature that the 
polar bear is enabled to enter the water amidst 
the ice floes of its habitat without suffering 
