The act of hibernation in surviving catastrophes

Robert Owuor Coach, Mentor and the Group Head – HR Apex Steel Ltd

The study of nature provides many interesting phenomena that explain our very existence in life.

The Architect of nature, in His design, enabled a natural process that even without human intervention, still ensures survival.

When we look at the various capabilities of different organisms, none is comparable with the other. The only common denominator for all is that we exist in the same world despite being in different environments.

Many times we are exposed to different environments but the most important thing is how we make it through at the end of the day.

Borrowing from the theory of adaptation, one can conclude that we are all meant to exist in nature. Moreover, that existence must be naturally supported. The essence of adaptation is to enable an organism to cope with the external factors of its environment to survive.

We know of animals that go into ‘Mute Mode’ whenever they are faced with either extreme conditions, or unfamiliar situations. This muting, also known as hibernation, involves being in a static state, not making any unnecessary movements or actions.

It is very interesting to imagine what happens to animals during this period of hibernation. We can use our imagination a great deal to figure out what happens.

Maybe the body organs stop functioning! But that will mean they are dead!

Maybe they are in deep sleep! But they are always still alert!
Are they in some deep internal soul searching?
Is the ‘self’ separated temporarily from the body?
We are left to imagine exactly what happens.

However, what we are certain about is that this is a necessary and deliberate act to survive the prevailing circumstances. It is an admission that we cannot handle whatever situation we find ourselves in at that particular moment. It comes along with its share of risks, pain, and sacrifice on the part of the animal.

The story has been told of the Eagle and how it reinvents itself to acquire fresh feathers and claws. The pain endured is unimaginable if one was to think about it.

We can argue about the facts on my above observations, but one thing I am certain about is that we do not have control nor command of knowledge about all situations that come along in life.

The only way to get to a destination is by knowing the destination in the first place before setting on the journey. Otherwise, we are lost before even starting the journey.

Borrowing from this in relating to our current predicament with Covid-19 pandemic, we can learn good lessons and coping mechanisms.  

The first time cases were reported, everyone, including the government, was thrown into panic and guesswork. No one could claim knowledge or experience on how to deal with the pandemic. Every theory and idea was considered and even the expert’s avoided being on the front lines in guiding the situation, as they too were caught unaware.

The worst was imagined and the only thing that mattered then was to make it alive at the end of everything. The predictions and pseudo expert advice all pointed to the worst.
What has been interesting is that amid the struggle, our otherwise uninformed actions has led to more deaths. This has been witnessed especially in the developed world.
The developing world has suffered fewer casualties in comparison. Yet, they mostly did nothing but wait, or hibernate as we witness in the animal kingdom.
For example, our neighbours in Tanzania, have not invested many resources into the crisis. One would have expected to see people dropping dead in the streets, which remains a wait and see the situation in their case.
In Kenya, our situation has led to different bleeding in terms of public resources. It is simply disturbing to discuss same, all I can say is that we have equally lost.
Borrowing from the principle of hibernation, I am left to wonder aloud:
What if we just took precaution and never made any move like confronting the calamity, would we have reduced our contact with the virus and saved lives?

If we recoiled to base for the period equivalent to the virus incubation period of 14 days, would it have died off naturally?

It’s obvious that no one had the slightest idea of how to respond to the rising cases, yet we tried out all manner of actions to fight the virus.

Going by the experience, this might have been the cause of more fatalities.
Maybe our solution was simple. Hibernate until we are certain about our external environment.