Figure 2.
Hibernation bouts of eight to nine months in three common tenrecs (Tenrec ecaudatus) measured in the dry deciduous forest of western Madagascar. Note the complete lack of IBAs. The measures of soil temperature in (a) were obtained less than 3 m from the hibernaculum, whereas those in (b,c) were measured about 200 m from the hibernaculum, accounting for the lack of precise fit of the soil temperatures to the corresponding Tbs in (b,c). The torpor bouts in (b,c) in the period following excavation were induced in the laboratory when the animals were exposed to an ambient temperature of 18°C. The data in (d) illustrate the daily rhythms of Tb in a normothermic adult male tenrec prior to entry into hibernation. (Online version in colour.)