Sunday, November 03, 2013

Prairie Dogs' Blood Sugar Levels

Apparently healthy prairie dogs of different types have normal blood sugar ranges that don't overlap. One study on black tailed prairie dogs found a blood sugar range of about 28 to 84 while another study on wild prairie dogs found a range of 138 to 510!
That might have to do with the fact that prairie dogs hibernate.
Other hibernating mammals (such as brown bears) show differences in blood sugar during different seasons, and even humans with diabetes tend to have higher blood sugars in the winter months.

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