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Oxygen consumption and transmembrane electrical potential difference in liver mitochondria from hibernating, arousing and active ground squirrels have been compared. It is found that arousal from hibernation is accompanied by uncoupling which is mediated by two different mechanisms, one sensitive to cyclosporin A and the other suppressed by carboxyatractylate. Both uncoupling effects reach their maxima at 20 - 25 degrees C body temperatures. Involvement of an increase in the free fatty acid concentration in the arousal-induced uncoupling mechanisms is discussed.