tail. They can "box up" for protection. (To see how it works, click here.) Box turtles don't stay in the water much and they don't hibernate under water. But box turtles, and other turtles that stay on the land most of the time, can hibernate too. They dig a deep burrow into the ground. They dig as deep as they can. When turtles are hibernating, they are in danger. They are not able to run away from animals that might want to eat them. They try to find a place that will be safe from predators like dogs or raccoons. Another bad thing that can happen is that they can freeze to death. If the water in the pond freezes all the way down to the bottom of the pond, the turtles that are hibernating there will die. If the ground freezes deeply around hibernating box turtles, they will die too. But that doesn't usually happen. If a pond is deep, only the top part of it will freeze solid and there will be water underneath the ice. Then the turtles will be safe. And the box turtles are usually safe too, because only the top layer of the ground will freeze. The turtles will stay deeper down where the dirt doesn't freeze. Thousands of turtles prepare for winter by going deep into the water or by digging a deep burrow. They will slow down and hibernate for as long as the weather is cold. Then when the spring comes, the turtles will warm up and become active again. Once again, they will look for nice warm places to sit and enjoy the sun.