Buried alive?

Factual Questions
1

While reading the hibernating bear thread,I was struck with this thought.

Has there ever been documented evidence of a hibernating animal buried alive by a cavein in his burrow or cave? Guessing this has to happen sometime-just wondering if anyone documented it on the web or on a Discovery type animal show.

Would they die while hibernating-given decreased oxygen needs-or after awakening from their long nap?

2

I’m sure it’s happened, but I can’t think of any documented case. Hibernating animals tend to seek out very secluded places, and some actually do sort of bury themselves in dirt, snow, leaf litter, etc., so actually determining what caused the animal’s death if one were found would be sorta difficult. But animals frequently die a natural death during hibernation- animals who habitually hibernate and who become old or infirm often just never wake up. Hibernation places extreme physiological stress on the body, and if the animal is already ill, aged, or has not stored enough body fat to last through the hibernation period, they will die. They don’t wake up and then die- how crappy would that be? They just die. But it’s pretty common, even in captive hibernators. Older or infirm snakes frequently are not allowed to go into hibernation in captivity since the stress might kill them.

3

There are recurring anecdotes from miners and quarry workers who find live frogs & reptiles entombed in solid rock.

Also, mammals don’t hibernate, at least not in the sense that frogs and amphibians do.

4

Huh? That’s just what mammals do do, is hibernate. Thousands of Google hits for “bears hibernate” and “bats hibernate” and “raccoons hibernate” and “marmots hibernate”, not to mention plain old “mammals hibernate”, and of course “amphibians hibernate” and “reptiles hibernate”.

So what are you talking about?
Also, all the stories about animals being found entombed, yet alive, in solid rock that I can find seem to date from earlier, unverifiable centuries, and the one anecdote from more recent times (1975) involved a turtle that had been entombed, not in “solid rock”, but in concrete, and it had only been there a year, which is no great feat for a turtle. Got something better?
http://www.unmuseum.org/entombed.htm

The story from Algeria in 1943–I don’t see how they could have known that there weren’t any “fissures” or any way for the critters to have gotten down in there, because they had just blasted away the rock face, and presumably it was all busted up.

5

How about these real life stories from Snopes about people who have been buried alive only to revive:

http://www.snopes2.com/horrors/gruesome/buried.htm#refs

The one that gave me the shivers was the story of the little girl entombed in a masoleum whose skeletal fingers were found clawing at the inside of the door when it was opened years later. (Ok, I’m embelleshing slightly but not much).

6

I presume, about the many different levels between true and false hibernation, aestivation, dormancy and such. http://www.alienexplorer.com/ecology/m27.html

Some amphibians and insects can literally freeze solid in winter. Some frogs survive being buried in the ground for 5 years or longer. Mammals don’t reach such deep levels of hibernation. Something like Old Rip can’t happen to a marmot.

7

quote:

Back in 1897, a live horned-toad was enclosed in the cornerstone of the county courthouse being constructed at the time. Thirty- one years later, in 1928, the courthouse burned down and the cornerstone was opened. After a few minutes of appearing dead, the horned-toad jumped to life.

…singing “Hello, my baby, hello, my darling, hello, my rag time gal…”

8

If you didn’t read the link bup, you win.