Aestivation also aestivate. Although relatively uncommon, a small number of mammals aestivate. Animal physiologist Kathrin Dausmann of Philipps University of Marburg, Germany, and coworkers presented evidence in a 2004 edition of "Nature" that the Malagasy fat-tailed dwarf lemur hibernates or aestivates in a small tree hole for seven months of the year. According to the Oakland Zoo in California, East African hedgehogs are thought to aestivate during the dry season. Aestivation Aestivation or æstivation (from , summer, but also spelled estivation in American English) is a state of animal dormancy, similar to hibernation, characterized by inactivity and a lowered metabolic rate,
Lemur the dry winter season, when food and water are scarce, and can exhibit daily and prolonged torpor during the dry season. Daily torpor constitutes less than 24 hours of dormancy, whereas prolonged torpor averages two weeks in duration and signals hibernation. Mouse lemurs have been observed experiencing torpor that lasts for several consecutive days, but dwarf lemurs are known to hibernate for six to eight months every year, particularly on the west coast of Madagascar. Dwarf lemurs are the only primates known to hibernate for extended periods. Unlike other hibernating mammals from temperate regions, which have to awaken regularly for