In a word: Hibernaculum

hi·ber·nac·u·lum

[hahy-ber-nak-yuh-luhm] noun, plural hi·ber·nac·u·la  [-luh]

  1. a protective case or covering, especially for winter, as of an animal or a plant bud.

2. winter quarters, as of a hibernating animal.

A snake hibernaculum in London
via www.wired.com

I've often wished I were a hibernating creature. OK, never a snake to be fair. But certainly a bear or a beaver or some beast that can justifiably hide away and sleep for three or four months every year. I have even planned my perfect hibernaculum. It would be womb-like and well-stocked with midnight snacks. At the centre would be a vast bed; a cozy sea of cushions and pillows and blankets. It would have elements of a Bedouin tent or a yurt. There would certainly be lanterns; each emitting a warm, red light. But only when I wanted. You see, despite the hibernaculum's superficial primitiveness it would, of course, be magically-programmed to respond to my every need.

Once enveloped in the carefree embrace of this nest, the outside world would effectively cease to exist. Lotophagus-like, I would slumber in blissful ignorance until such time as I was bored. Then I would throw the windows of my hibernaculum open, and let in the sounds and smells of spring. 

Yes yes, hardly the true ursine experience. And I should probably never try heroin...

A bear emerging from its hibernaculum
via http://rinklyrimes.blogspot.co.nz/

Anyway, escapist fantasies aside, for many creatures enforced hibernation is the only way to see out the winter. And more often than not, it is a far from solitary experience. Take the red-sided garter snake, which hibernates in a great seething ball. One colony, in Manitoba, is estimated to be 30,000-strong!

©Olivier Blaise

At the other end of the cuteness scale, Alpine marmots spend up to nine months in hibernation. That's too much time in bed even for me!

Via thelocal.de

Anyway, all this talk of hibernacula is making me sleepy...