eli5: Why can some animals survive without food & water for significantly longer than humans?
In: 3
Different (and slower) metabolism.
We (humans and most other mammals) need constant intake of calories because we keep our own internal temperature (Homeostasis), we’re warm blooded. We’re quite literally burning calories (combining carbohydrates, or sugar, with oxygen) to generate energy and heat. This means we can very quickly run out of fuel and starve. Some mammals can hibernate, which is sort of controlled hypothermia, where all their processes slow down and their internal temperature drops. But their bodies are specially accustomed to that. You would need to do some serious work to allow a human (or most other mammals) to hibernate. Amd they could still die.
Most other animals are cold-blooded. They do not need to use energy to generate heat, they live according to the heat from their environment. This means that their energy requirement is minimal, so as long as they sit still and digest, they can have only one meal every once in a while.
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