Information about one of the animals of the arctic deserts. The Arctic deserts are the planet's ice cap. Pictured animal lemming
Arctic deserts- these are the coldest regions of the planet, in which only the most hardy animals survive, adapted to given living conditions. Species diversity here is limited, for the reason that not all birds and mammals can survive in such a harsh climate.
Animals of the arctic desert
In the Arctic ice deserts, reindeer, polar bears, arctic foxes, with hares and lemmings mainly live. Along with this, there are various kinds birds, which include:
Tundra partridges
snowy owls
Animals in the desert also live in the sea, only occasionally going to the coast to continue their kind. Among such inhabitants of these places, walruses, seals, beluga whales and narwhals can be noted.
Adaptation of animals to harsh conditions
All these animals are adapted to life in such conditions due to their unique features. Naturally, the key problem for this region is the preservation of the thermal regime.
It is with this task that animals must successfully cope in order to survive in such a harsh climate, for example, seals are helped by body fat, for reindeer, polar bears and arctic foxes, their thick and warm fur is saving. At the same time, feathered inhabitants are saved thanks to loose plumage.
But not only fur and fat animal world in arctic wilderness perfectly adapted and its salvation in many respects is the characteristic color acquired before the onset of the winter period.
But not everyone is ready to change their color depending on the season, for example, a polar bear stands out with its white fur throughout the year.
Thanks to the change in pigmentation, predators can successfully hunt, and for their victims this is a chance for salvation. All animals forced to live in this region are adapted to the local harsh conditions and have been living in these places for thousands of years.
ICE OF THE ARCTIC
It seems incredible that where the temperature does not rise above -10 o C, the animals of the Arctic can live and breed. And yet even the coldest and most inhospitable parts of the Earth are inhabited. The fact is that some animals have adapted in a special way to conserve the heat of their own body. For example, the body of penguins under the plumage is densely covered with warm fluff, and the skin of polar bears is very thick and waterproof. In addition, all polar animals have a dense layer of fat under their skin.
Life for animals in Antarctica is possible only on the coast. Inner part the mainland is uninhabited.
Polar bear.
At the end of autumn, the female polar bear digs a den in the snow. In December - January, as a rule, two bear cubs are born, but only in spring will they leave the den for the first time.
A polar bear cub is born very small, blind, deaf and completely defenseless. Therefore, he lives with his mother for two years. The skin of this bear is very dense, waterproof and absolutely white color, thanks to which he easily finds refuge among the whiteness of the ice surrounding him. He swims remarkably - this is facilitated by the membrane, which connects the pads of his paws. The polar bear is the largest predator in the world.
The polar bear usually weighs between 150 and 500 kilograms. The mass of some representatives exceeds 700 kilograms.
Pinnipeds.
On the cold ground and endless ice floes drifting in the Arctic live different kinds pinnipeds; these include fur seals, seals and walruses. By origin, these are terrestrial animals that have become accustomed to marine environment: in the course of evolution, their body adapted to life in water. Unlike cetaceans, pinnipeds were only partially modified by this adaptation. So front paws fur seals turned into flippers on which they can lean on land to lift upper part torso; seals have learned to move on the ground, crawling on their belly.
Pinnipeds have huge nostrils, and for a short time they can inhale the amount of air needed to stay underwater for about 10 minutes.
Pinnipeds feed not only on fish, but also on crustaceans, mollusks and krill, consisting of the smallest shrimps.
Fur seal look like sea lion, but it has a thicker coat and a shorter and sharper muzzle. The male is much larger than the female and can weigh four times as much.
Sea Elephant. Most large view pinnipeds in the world: the weight of a male can reach 3500 kilograms. It is easily distinguished from the female by the swelling on its head, similar to a short trunk, from which it got its name.
Sea leopard. With its spotted skin, this seal resembles a predator of the cat family, from which it borrowed its name. The leopard seal is very aggressive and can sometimes even eat a fellow seal if it is smaller than it.
Walrus.
This mammal with long fangs lives in the Arctic seas, making short seasonal migrations. The male walrus is huge: it can weigh 1,500 kilograms, while the mass of a female rarely reaches 1,000 kilograms. The walrus has a massive wrinkled body covered with sparse bristles.
The strong voice of the walrus reminds at the same time both the roar of a lion and the lowing of a bull; while sleeping, on an ice floe or in the water, he snores loudly. Can rest for hours, lounging in the sun. The walrus is irritable and obstinate, but he will not be slow to come to the aid of his brother, who is attacked by hunters.
Long fangs are indispensable in the life of a walrus: he uses them, defending himself from enemies and drilling the seabed; with the help of fangs, the walrus climbs onto the shore and moves along the ice floe or land. The length of the fangs in larger representatives reaches one meter!
Baby walruses are fed by their mother for two years, and for the next two years they remain under her protection.
Under the skin of the walrus is a thick layer of fat, which serves as both protection from the cold and a reserve supply in case of hunger.
These are birds, but their wings are not adapted for flight: they are too short. With the help of wings, penguins swim like fish feast with the help of fins. Penguins are found only in southern hemisphere. They live in large colonies on land, but some species can make long migrations on the high seas.
As a rule, penguins lay only one egg. Baby penguins find shelter from the cold in the lower folds of their parent's abdomen. The plumage of penguin chicks is usually dark brown, over time they acquire a characteristic black and white color, like in adults.
In the colonies emperor penguin sometimes there are 300 thousand individuals.
Giant blocks of ice and snow-white expanses. The Arctic is one of the most mysterious places on the planet that scientists have yet to unravel. And, nevertheless, it is already known which of the representatives of the animal world lives there. The fauna of the Arctic is TOP-10 our topic today.
Wildlife of the Arctic — TOP-10
Blue whale
Wildlife of the Arctic - TOP-10 - Blue Whale
Most large mammal planet lives in the waters of the Arctic. Adults weigh 100-120 tons. Unfortunately, today these unique creatures are listed in the Red Book as endangered animals. Of all the whales, the largest was a female found near the South Shetland Islands. The female reached 33.27 meters in length, and her body weight was more than 176 kilograms. As a rule, whales do not grow up to such giant size, however, from time to time, scientists discover such large individuals. Many people think that whales are fish, but in fact they are mammals. whales can for a long time be under water, but they need to constantly float outside to get some air. It is at these moments that you can see the famous fountains. The milk that females feed their young is 10 times more nutritious than cow's milk.
Wildlife of the Arctic - TOP-10 - Polar Bear
The largest predatory animal among the representatives of mammals. The weight of a polar bear ranges from 800 to 1000 kilograms. Polar bears need ice, the open sea and the coastal strip for a normal existence. The polar bears need the sea for food, and the coastal strips for building lairs. Polar bears are the only members of the bear family that feed exclusively on flesh.
Wildlife of the Arctic — TOP-10 — Narwhal
This animal is the owner of the longest tooth. The narwhal has only 2 upper teeth, and the right tooth, as a rule, does not erupt. The left tooth of a marine animal can reach a length of 2-3 meters, while weighing up to 10 kilograms. The tusk is very strong and flexible, and the ends are able to bend different ways. So, the tusk can bend 31 centimeters in any direction without breaking. Scientists still cannot understand why the animal needs this tooth, but there is an assumption that it is needed for mating games and attracting females.
arctic tern
Wildlife of the Arctic — TOP-10 — Arctic Tern
Tern is able to overcome unimaginable distances, flying from the Arctic to the Antarctic. In Antarctica, terns spend the winter. Of all famous birds Arctic terns have the longest flight times, which means that birds see much more sunlight each year than other animals, as they spend their "second summer" traveling south in the winter.
White Owl
Wildlife of the Arctic - TOP-10 - Snowy Owl
The polar owl is the largest representative among the dangerous birds of the tundra. In length, adult males reach 55-65 centimeters, and their weight reaches 2.5 kilograms. Females are slightly larger than males, their body length reaches 70 centimeters, and their weight is 3 kilograms. The wingspan averages 140-165 centimeters. Like all owls, the snowy owl feeds on rodents and other small animals. Snowy owls' favorite delicacy is lemmings. One owl eats about 1600 lemmings a year. Less commonly, fish, small birds and hares are present in the diet.
Arctic shrew
Wildlife of the Arctic — TOP-10 — Arctic shrew
These little animals are not only the smallest representatives of the animal world of the Arctic, but also the most voracious. There is an opinion that only large mammals can have a good appetite, but as it turned out, this is far from the case. The body length of the arctic shrew is only 5-9 centimeters, and the weight is 3-16 grams, however, the shrew eats 4 times more food daily than its own weight.
Reindeer
Wildlife of the Arctic - TOP-10 - Reindeer
Reindeer are one of the earliest domesticated animals. Deer were domesticated about 5-7 thousand years ago, but not so long ago, archaeologists found a reindeer team, whose age was 15 thousand years ago. Deer differ from dogs in that they are very similar to their ancestors, while dogs are very different from wolves.
tundra swan
Wildlife of the Arctic — TOP-10 — Tundra swan
And here is the most monogamous representative of birds in the Arctic. Every spring, the swan migrates to the Arctic to build its nest and, of course, lay its eggs. Swans form pairs, the duration of which is from 2 years to a lifetime. mating games birds occur on land and they look rather funny: the male walks in front of the female for a long time, stretching long neck and lifted the wings. During such "rituals" the swan does not forget to make various sounds. After a while, the couple flies to another place, where the same thing is repeated again.
Sea Elephant
Wildlife of the Arctic — TOP-10 — Elephant Seal
The largest pinnipeds are elephant seals. Males reach 6.5 meters in length, and females are almost half their size - 3.5 meters. Males weigh about 3.5 tons, while females rarely weigh more than 900 kilograms. Elephants have very large noses that only stop growing when the elephant seal is eight years old. AT mating season the noses of animals increase in size.
Wildlife of the Arctic — TOP-10 — Walrus
The last place in the ranking goes to the thickest-skinned animal in the Arctic. The skin of walruses on the shoulders and neck can reach 10 centimeters, and the layer of fat up to 15 centimeters. The skin color of young walruses is dark brown, which becomes much lighter with age. In old age, males become almost pink. Interestingly, during bathing, walruses can turn white, which is associated with constriction of blood vessels.
The fauna of the Arctic is unique!
Located on the northernmost outskirts of Asia and North America, including all islands in the Arctic Basin that fall within the polar geographic zone. The climate is arctic, with long and severe winters, summers are short and cold. Seasons don't exist. During the polar night - winter, and during the polar day - summer. Average temperatures are -10 to -35°, dropping to -50°. In summer - from 0 ° to + 5 °. There is little precipitation (200-300 mm per year).
The vegetation is sparse, so the fauna of the Arctic deserts is relatively poor: it is the Arctic wolf, seal, walrus, seal, lemming, musk ox ( musk ox), arctic fox, polar bear, reindeer and etc.; of birds - guillemots, puffins, eiders, pink gulls, snowy owls, etc. A separate group are cetaceans, for which the conditions of the Arctic do not create any problems.
Birds of the Arctic Desert
The most numerous inhabitants of the harsh northern region are birds.
The pink gull is a fragile creature, with a weight of 250 grams and a body length of 35 cm, feels quite confident and freely conducts harsh winters in the tundra, or above the sea surface, which is covered with drifting ice floes. Often joins the meals of larger predators.
Guillemot is a black and white bird that nests on high sheer cliffs and spends the winter in the ice without experiencing much discomfort.
The common eider is a northern duck that can easily dive in icy water to depths of up to 20 meters.
The most ferocious and largest among birds is the polar owl. A ruthless predator with beautiful yellow eyes, snow-white plumage preys on other birds, rodents, and sometimes on cubs of larger animals, such as arctic foxes.
Typical animals of the arctic deserts:
cetaceans
The narwhal is interesting for its long horn protruding from its mouth, which is an ordinary tooth, only with a length of 3 meters and a weight of 10 kg. Photo: One for all and all for one 🙂
The bowhead whale is a relative of the narwhal. But it is many times larger than it, and instead of a strange tooth, there is a whalebone in its mouth with a huge tongue, which is convenient for licking stuck plankton.
The polar dolphin or beluga whale is a large animal weighing up to 2 tons, with a length of up to 6 meters, feeding on fish.
Kasatka occupies the first place among the largest and strongest marine predators Arctic waters, where she preys on beluga whales, walruses, seals and seals.
Beasts
Seals are animals that make up a special Arctic cohort that has been living in this region for thousands of years.
This species includes the harp seal with a very beautiful patterned skin.
Even at first glance, the desert regions of the planet, where the climate is quite severe and inhospitable, are the habitat of many interesting animals. In order to understand what animals live in the Arctic, you need to learn more about the features of this icy region.
The fauna of the Arctic is subject to certain natural laws. Thus, the ability to merge with the surrounding landscape is very important for local conditions. Therefore, most of the inhabitants of the Arctic are characterized by a pure white or light color. Among them there are special specimens: deer, bears, musk oxen, etc.
Herbivorous arctic animals - musk ox, lemming, wild reindeer, arctic hare. They are hunted by wolves and foxes. The polar bear prefers the inhabitants of the sea as food. In addition, in arctic tundra you can meet ermines, ground squirrel (long-tailed), wolverine.
Who lives in the Arctic?
Other inhabitants of the Arctic are seals, walruses, seals, beluga whales, killer whales, bowhead whales and narwhals. Due to the peculiarities of the terrain, all animals of these regions are adapted to foraging at dusk or even in complete darkness. For low consumption and saving heat, the inhabitants of the land use thick fur.
Large animals have a dense layer of subcutaneous fat, and they manage to generate more heat due to their large body mass. Thanks to short legs and their ears also have the ability to store heat more easily. In total, no more than 20 species of animals live in the difficult conditions of the North.
What animals live in the Arctic
The polar bear is considered a kind of symbol of the coldest places on the planet - these are rare animals of the Arctic. He is a kind of traveler among the animals of the Arctic, as he moves both on land and on drifting ice floes. He is not afraid of ice and cold. Thick dense fur serves as an excellent protection against frost, and massive wide and furry paws with sharp claws. In addition, these arctic animals excellent swimmers, because they have a special membrane on the paw pads. Very mobile, move quickly and dive.
The weight of a polar bear is from 150 to 500 kg. There are individuals weighing more than 700 kg. Dimensions of the large predator in the world they are 3 meters or more (from the muzzle to the tip of the tail), at the withers - up to one and a half meters. He likes to feast on the meat of animals - walruses, seals, etc.
Wolverine is another predator of those that are found in arctic lands, it is also called the demon of the North. Wolverine is a ferocious hunter with an excellent appetite, can attack people or livestock.
The number of individuals in the population of the animal world arctic ice depends on the number of small rodents lemmings, which are the "main dish" for arctic foxes, wolverines, polar wolves, and in some cases reindeer.
The polar wolf is considered one of the most beautiful animals in the Arctic. In one flock, as a rule, from 7 to 9 individuals. It feeds on small animals, but musk oxen and deer also belong to its area of interest.
The pinnipeds of the Arctic are seals, walruses, seals, leopard seals and elephant seals. The significant size of the nostrils give them the opportunity to inhale so much air at a time to stay at least 10 minutes under the water column. The front legs are flippers, thanks to which they can rise, and on land crawl on their belly. These Arctic animals feed on crustaceans, fish, mollusks, and krill.
The largest representative of the pinniped group in the world is sea Elephant: an adult male “eats up” a mass of up to 3500 kg. It differs from females by a swelling on its head, similar to a short trunk, which is what the name owes.
Walruses have rather large fangs, the volume of body weight is also impressive: up to 1500 kg. If a walrus makes a sound, then it can resemble the roar of a lion and a bull at the same time. These animals of the Arctic are obstinate, irritable, but able to come to the aid of their relative, who was attacked by hunters.
Seals are also found in the Arctic, their habitat is very wide - the Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Northern and Baltic Sea. On land, the seal does not feel very confident, but in the water it is able to frolic like a real acrobat, but the seals do not swim to the depths. They do not feel the cold due to waterproof fur and a significant layer of subcutaneous fat.
Not a single representative of the living creatures of the Arctic, perhaps, can be compared with the beluga whale, narwhal and bowhead whale in terms of their ability to survive in the kingdom eternal ice and cold. They do not have the usual for other cetaceans dorsal fin. The narwhal has a long horn protruding from its mouth. A horn is such a tooth 3 meters long and weighing 10 kg. And to make it more convenient to lick the stuck plankton, a large tongue and a whalebone are perfectly adapted. The daily diet of a giant can be up to 2 tons!
The "relatives" of the narwhal are considered bowhead whale, only it surpasses the narwhal in its size.
Beluga is a polar dolphin large sizes, reaches a length of 6 m. The main food is fish.
But in the first place among predators in terms of size and strength is the killer whale. Lives in Arctic waters, hunts walruses, seals, seals.
Animal world of the Arctic
At the moment, some animals living in the Arctic may completely disappear as a species. Changes climatic conditions region pose a serious threat to wildlife. The list of endangered animals in the Arctic includes: polar bears, musk oxen, whale, narwhal, Laptev and Atlantic walruses. Today, these are endangered species listed in the Red Book.
To rare species the musk ox also applies - a beautiful powerful animal with a thick undercoat that is eight times warmer than a lamb. Gorgeous wool covers it from above, so the musk ox is not afraid of the most severe frosts. His ancestors lived in the North in the time of mammoths.
If we talk about the animals of the Arctic, we cannot but mention the Arctic foxes, which also require a careful attitude. As a rule, their fur is always white, but there are black, bluish-gray or light gray colors. These animals are very hardy, as they can survive at 50 degrees below zero. They save themselves from frost in dug snow holes, which are whole tunnels c large quantity inputs and outputs. Arctic foxes can eat meat, herbs, berries, and even algae.
In June 2009, by order of the Russian government, national park"Russian Arctic". On a vast territory there are unique natural objects and inhabited by all kinds of fauna under threat of destruction.