“What’s most striking is the Yakut has adapted at an entirely unexpectedly fast clip. “They represent one of the fastest cases of adaption to the extreme temperatures of the Arctic,” the authors wrote in the PNAS study.

One of the key traits of these horses is their ability to lower their metabolic rate, heart rate, and body temperature in the extreme cold—much like ground squirrels, and roughly a dozen other animals—to mimic hibernation states for hours on any given day. Because the horses remain active during their extended periods of torpor, scientist have dubbed the situation “standing hibernation.”’ https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a46601051/horses-siberia-rapid-evolution/ #horses #evolution #ClimateChange