All science classrooms discuss animals that hibernate during winter months, but few know about animals that estivateâa prolonged sleep during hot or dry periods. Learn about the reasons estivating animals become dormantâwhether it's because warm weather threatens food supply or to avoid increased body temperatures. From the ladybug to the salamander, from the lungfish to the desert hedgehog, twelve estivating animals and their habitsâboth when sleeping and awakeâare explained clearly and elegantly.