# How do animals in the frozen part of Alaska find water?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-animals-in-the-frozen-part-of-alaska-find-water/719414
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 6, 2015, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-animals-in-the-frozen-part-of-alaska-find-water/719414 "2015-05-06T20:02:18Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2015, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-animals-in-the-frozen-part-of-alaska-find-water/719414/1 "2015-05-06T20:02:18Z")
How do animals in the frozen part of Alaska find water to drink? If it is -20’ and all the water is frozen how do wolves and bears etc find water to drink?
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### Author:  [@Mrdeals](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrdeals)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2015, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-animals-in-the-frozen-part-of-alaska-find-water/719414/2 "2015-05-06T20:05:27Z")
I know my dog will eat snow…or rub his face in it.
I imagine they must know snow=water.
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### Author:  [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2015, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-animals-in-the-frozen-part-of-alaska-find-water/719414/3 "2015-05-06T20:08:31Z")
> [@Mrdeals](#):
>
> I know my dog will eat snow…or rub his face in it.
>
> I imagine they must know snow=water.
thank you for your response
but i believe for a human they say you can’t eat enough snow to properly hydrate
ten inches of snow is equivalent to one inch of water
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### Author:  [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2015, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-animals-in-the-frozen-part-of-alaska-find-water/719414/4 "2015-05-06T20:08:47Z")
They eat snow.
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### Author:  [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2015, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-animals-in-the-frozen-part-of-alaska-find-water/719414/5 "2015-05-06T20:15:00Z")
> [@Colibri](#):
>
> They eat snow.
Thank You. Are their bodies adapted to functioning with less water? or do they just eat lots and lots and lots of snow?
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### Author:  [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2015, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-animals-in-the-frozen-part-of-alaska-find-water/719414/6 "2015-05-06T20:24:31Z")
> [@Robert163](#):
>
> Thank You. Are their bodies adapted to functioning with less water? or do they just eat lots and lots and lots of snow?
Humans have basically a tropical physiology. If they are well insulated enough and have enough plenty of food Arctic animals should be able to afford to melt snow with their internal body heat.
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### Author:  [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2015, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-animals-in-the-frozen-part-of-alaska-find-water/719414/7 "2015-05-06T20:39:26Z")
> [@Colibri](#):
>
> Humans have basically a tropical physiology. If they are well insulated enough and have enough plenty of food Arctic animals should be able to afford to melt snow with their internal body heat.
I always appreciate when you answer my questions, thanks. 🙂
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### Author:  [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2015, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-animals-in-the-frozen-part-of-alaska-find-water/719414/8 "2015-05-06T20:53:52Z")
> [@Robert163](#):
>
> thank you for your response
> but i believe for a human they say you can’t eat enough snow to properly hydrate
> ten inches of snow is equivalent to one inch of water
Humans use waaaaaayyyy more water (per unit of body mass) than most animals, because our internal thermostats rely on a water-based cooling mechanism (sweat) and we originally evolved in areas where water wasn’t super-scarce.
Wolves, for example, pant after running, but they do not sweat. Hence, while they’re overheated after chasing down prey much as we would be, they cool back off without using lots of water they we would.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2015, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-animals-in-the-frozen-part-of-alaska-find-water/719414/9 "2015-05-06T21:13:47Z")
Forage is a larger issue for moose than water. Moose eat a variety of leaves and bark from trees, shrubs and grasses, but unlike caribou will not dig through snow to find plants. Moose are not commonly found in tundra country in winter, whereas caribou are.
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### Author:  [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2015, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-animals-in-the-frozen-part-of-alaska-find-water/719414/10 "2015-05-06T22:11:54Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#):
>
> Humans use waaaaaayyyy more water (per unit of body mass) than most animals, because our internal thermostats rely on a water-based cooling mechanism (sweat) and we originally evolved in areas where water wasn’t super-scarce.
>
> Wolves, for example, pant after running, but they do not sweat. Hence, while they’re overheated after chasing down prey much as we would be, they cool back off without using lots of water they we would.
Also, while I can’t speak for you guys, I know that I personally piss away huge quantities of it. I’m sure that system can be made more efficient.
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### Author:  [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2015, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-animals-in-the-frozen-part-of-alaska-find-water/719414/11 "2015-05-06T22:36:57Z")
Most raw foods are somewhere between 70 - 90% water. It’s perfectly possible to get sufficient water intake just from food.
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### Author:  [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)
#### Post date: [May 7, 2015, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-animals-in-the-frozen-part-of-alaska-find-water/719414/12 "2015-05-07T05:14:08Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#):
>
> Most raw foods are somewhere between 70 - 90% water. It’s perfectly possible to get sufficient water intake just from food.
Tomatoes, peaches & other fruit, OK. Carrots, cabbage, not so much… 🆒
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### Author:  [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)
#### Post date: [May 7, 2015, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-animals-in-the-frozen-part-of-alaska-find-water/719414/13 "2015-05-07T09:13:40Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#):
>
> Tomatoes, peaches & other fruit, OK. Carrots, cabbage, not so much… 🆒
[cabbage is 93% water, carrots are 87% water](https://www2.ca.uky.edu/enri/pubs/enri129.pdf). Ironically, peaches are only 88% water.
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### Author:  [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)
#### Post date: [May 7, 2015, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-animals-in-the-frozen-part-of-alaska-find-water/719414/15 "2015-05-07T15:19:16Z")
But peaches come in a can. They were put there by a man.
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### Author:  [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)
#### Post date: [May 7, 2015, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-animals-in-the-frozen-part-of-alaska-find-water/719414/16 "2015-05-07T15:52:01Z")
I’ve wondered this about wild horses. A lot of them live in pretty cold areas of the US, and they drink a ton of water in the winter.
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### Author:  [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)
#### Post date: [May 7, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-animals-in-the-frozen-part-of-alaska-find-water/719414/17 "2015-05-07T15:58:55Z")
> [@friedo](#):
>
> But peaches come in a can. They were put there by a man.
So a man had a plan to put peaches in a can?
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### Author:  [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)
#### Post date: [May 7, 2015, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-animals-in-the-frozen-part-of-alaska-find-water/719414/18 "2015-05-07T16:17:03Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#):
>
> So a man had a plan to put peaches in a can?
Only when he wasn’t busy planning a canal in Panama.
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### Author:  [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)
#### Post date: [May 7, 2015, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-animals-in-the-frozen-part-of-alaska-find-water/719414/19 "2015-05-07T19:18:23Z")
I can get more water from fruit than carrots because of the ability to eat more fruit.
If all I have is carrots, I am not going to last as long as if I just have peaches.
Have you ever eaten too many carrots? I have. Not a good plan for survival.
YMMV 😃
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### Author:  [@donkeyoatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/donkeyoatey)
#### Post date: [May 7, 2015, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-animals-in-the-frozen-part-of-alaska-find-water/719414/20 "2015-05-07T21:07:51Z")
> [@Chefguy](#):
>
> Moose…will not dig through snow to find plants.
Yes they will.
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### Author:  [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)
#### Post date: [May 9, 2015, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-animals-in-the-frozen-part-of-alaska-find-water/719414/21 "2015-05-09T07:18:52Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#):
>
> Tomatoes, peaches & other fruit, OK. Carrots, cabbage, not so much… 🆒
But none of them grow “the frozen part of Alaska” that the OP asked about.
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