Speaking of animals, did you know that there are animals with cold bodies? We’ve all heard about warm blooded animals. Human such as ourselves are considered as warm blooded because we produce heat and our body is capable of controlling its temperature.
This is different to cold blooded animals. These cold blooded animals don’t rely on their own body to regulate their body temperature. Instead, they use the temperature around them or also known as environment temperature. So when it gets hot in the daytime, their body would have a similar heat to those in which surrounds them.
Today we would discuss a few other differences between hot and cold blooded animals, then we would further highlight the pros and cons of being warm blooded and cold blooded.
3 Points of Key Differences
Firstly of all, there are some major differences between cold and warm blooded animals. One of the key differences is called regulating thermal homeostasis. Thermal homeostasis simply means the ability to make heat and maintain a consistent body temperature.
Unfortunately, cold blooded animals fail and do not have the ability to regulate thermal homeostasis, while warm blooded animals have the ability to do so.
We could see animals such as frogs, endangered crocodiles, non-venomous snakes, and lizards staying cold when the temperature around them is cold, and animals such as cats, dogs, and birds maintain their body temperature at an average of 34°C.
Another key difference following our previous one is that surprisingly, cold blooded animals require less energy to survive. This is because their cells do not have to spend energy on producing heat, and hence cold blooded animals require less food to survive with.
In contrary to cold blooded animals, making more heat means needing more energy. Warm blooded animals usually consume more food than cold blooded ones.
The next difference is about hibernation. Some animals have the capabilities to hibernate, and sometimes even warm blooded such as bears can hibernate. One fun fact is that all cold blooded animals can hibernate and that hibernating is useful for animals to survive through the harsh cold temperature.
Speaking of hibernating, do you know how animals prepare and survive for winter coldness? When these animals hibernate, they go into a deep sleeping state so that they won’t waste much energy on moving.
While other animals sleep, warm blooded animals would use thermal homeostasis to their advantage. Because of their ability to regulate temperature, hibernation is not necessary for them.
One last key difference in the rate of metabolism of these animals differ. Metabolism Is the ability to produce energy by converting food that is eaten into usable energy.
One factor that affects the rate of metabolism is temperature. If the temperature is optimal, the process of creating energy would be quick due to the chemical reactions that happen.
For cold blooded animals, their metabolism rate depends on nature. When it is a sunny day and they get enough sunlight as well as radiation, they would metabolize at an optimal rate. But if it is a cold day, they would make energy slower.
Pros and Cons of a Warm Blooded Animal
In this section, we would discuss more interesting facts and how each type of animal has its own unique advantages and disadvantages.
The pros of a warm blooded animal is that they have a stronger immune system. This is because when the body is able to increase its temperature, it could also kill any bacteria and microorganisms that attack the body.
That is why warm blooded creatures could also have fever and shiver. With an ability to regulate heat, warm blooded animals are also given the ability to adapt easily in environment and temperatures. Because even if their surrounding is cold, the body would still try and manage the temperature.
When it comes to the disadvantages, it would be more a challenge for these animals. Because with a constant temperature, it would need lots of energy to regulate the heat.
One thing that warm blooded animals struggle with, is to find enough food every single day. This is because the energy needed is much higher, hence warm blooded animals have to hunt or gather food more daily.
Pros and Cons of a Cold Blooded Animal
Firstly, it is true that warm blooded animals have a strong immune system. But that doesn’t mean cold blooded animals have its own advantages too.
Cold blooded animals have the ability to lower their temperature depending on their surrounding. When micro organisms and viruses attack this animal, it could destroy it by lowering the temperature and making the body cold.
Besides that, cold blooded animals also doesn’t have to worry about starving. Because most of the time, these animals eat once every couple of days. So cold blooded animals won’t need to spend time and also energy to gather food.
The cons for cold blooded animals are much significant. This is because when the weather and temperature get cold, this animal has a lesser chance of surviving.
Cold blooded animals cannot survive in extreme temperatures. If they are faced with a cold temperature, they would freeze to death and their body would have no ability to warm up. And the same goes if the weather is too hot. When it gets extremely hot, any cold blooded animal would not survive the high temperature it is faced with.
That is all about today’s article. And if you want to learn more about cold blooded animals, check our article on the Komodo Dragon. Or even about warm blooded animals such as Earth’s aquatic mammals.