Message about the animal of the arctic seal. What do animals in the Arctic eat? What animals live in the Arctic? Marine mammals of the Arctic
Message " Animal world Arctic" will tell you about the peculiarities of the fauna of this amazing corner of our planet. The story about the animals of the Arctic will help you find out what specific structure of the body helps them survive in the conditions permafrost.
"Animals of the Arctic" message
It is a region that surrounds the north pole and includes Greenland, the Arctic Ocean, the northern territories of Canada, the United States, Iceland, Russia and Scandinavia.
It has cold, long winters and cool, short summers. Precipitation mainly falls in the form of snow. Most of the territory is arid and receives less than 500 mm of precipitation per year. Approximately two dozen species of animals and plants live in such harsh conditions. The vegetation of this part of the planet is hardy and compact in size, and the animals that live in the Arctic are forced to forage for themselves in the long darkness, illuminated by the northern lights.
What features of the body structure help animals survive in the Arctic?
Nature took care that animals could keep warm, which is not enough even during short summer. Animals have long thick fur, and birds have suitable plumage. Most representatives of the fauna have a thick layer of subcutaneous fat. For large animals, their impressive mass produces a large amount of heat. And some animals have small ears and legs, which helps them not to freeze.
The most surprising thing is that many representatives of the animal world of the Arctic interact with each other in a harsh climate. We offer you a selection of the most common representatives of the fauna of the permafrost zone and what the animals of the Arctic eat.
What animals live in the Arctic?
- arctic fox
This type of fox has thick fur, thanks to which it maintains in cold extreme conditions. normal temperature body. Arctic foxes feed on small animals - voles, lemmings, rabbits, birds and carrion.
- Arctic tern
This species of tern is the migration champion. They spend their breeding season in the Arctic. A small beak and thick plumage allows them not to freeze. They feed on fish and plants.
- polar bear
It is the largest predator on the planet. Thick fur, dark segmented skin and a thick layer of subcutaneous fat perfectly accumulate and retain heat. They feed mainly on ringed seals and seals. They do not disdain the carcasses of whales, walruses and bird eggs thrown ashore.
- Walrus
These pinnipeds have a streamlined body shape and a large layer of fat. It feeds on shellfish, sea cucumbers, shrimp, crabs, tube worms and marine invertebrates.
- Tundra partridge
The peculiarity of the bird is that it changes its color in summer to gray-brown, in winter to white. They eat birch and willow buds, seeds, flowers, leaves, berries.
- musk ox
Long and thick coat keeps you warm. The outer layer of outer coarse hairs protects against gusts of wind, and the short inner layer provides insulation. They feed on lichens, mosses, flowers, roots and grass.
- arctic hare
They have a thick layer of fur. Eats plant foods.
- harp seal
It has a large, strong body and a flat head. Thanks to the layer of subcutaneous fat and waterproof fur, animals do not feel the cold. It feeds on fish, cephalopods and crustaceans.
- Reindeer
This is a large animal with a somewhat elongated body and relatively low limbs.
In addition, the Arctic is home to wolverines, stoats and long-tailed ground squirrels.
In the polar summer, millions of migratory birds nest in the tundra. In the seas of the Arctic live seals, as well as several species of cetaceans: baleen whales, narwhals, killer whales and beluga whales.
As you can see, the nutrition of animals in the Arctic is determined by climatic features and species diversity, which is not much. The inhabitants of the deep sea feed mainly on crustaceans and mollusks, while the inhabitants of the land are either meat eaters or eat vegetation.
In general, the food chains of animals in the Arctic can be represented as follows: Algae - Crustacea and Invertebrates - Fish - Birds - Seals - Polar Bears.
We hope that report about the animals of the Arctic Helped you prepare for class. And you can leave your message about the animals of the Arctic through the comment form below.
The nature and wildlife of the Arctic are unique. More than 20 thousand species of plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms live here, and some animals and plants are found only in the Arctic.
The main feature of all animal species in the Arctic is unique abilities to survive in extreme conditions.
In the spring and summer, many migratory animals arrive in the Arctic, and in a year some of them literally travel around the world, covering huge distances.
Some of them form large concentrations on migration routes, making stops for feeding or molting, while others, on the contrary, gather in large numbers precisely in breeding areas.
The governments of the Arctic states have committed themselves to allocate territories for nature reserves and national parks. Currently, part of the territory of the Russian Arctic is protected areas.
Here are the national parks "Russian Arctic" and "Beringia", the reserves "Laplandsky", "Kandalakshsky", "Nenets", "Gydansky", "Great Arctic", "Taimyrsky", "Ust-Lensky" and "Wrangel Island", besides a row federal reserves and many regional protected areas
The closer to North Pole, the poorer the flora and fauna: not all species are able to adapt to extremely low temperatures.
For example, in Taimyr, in the forest-tundra zone, 80 species of birds live and 250 species of vascular plants grow, and to the north, in the zone of polar deserts, only 12 and 50 species, respectively.
However, there are exceptions to this rule: about half of the more than 200 known species waders and 70% of the global geese population.
One of the most beautiful animals of the North is the reindeer.
In addition, it is one of the main animals in the life of indigenous peoples. Reindeer herding became a traditional occupation of many indigenous peoples about a thousand years ago.
The largest population of domestic reindeer lives in the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous region- about 665 thousand people
animals. In America, reindeer are called "caribou" (while caribou are slightly larger than reindeer in size).
Many peoples of the Arctic, such as the Saami, Nenets and Chukchi, are still breeding reindeer.
This occupation provides them with food, clothing and shelter, as well as a source of income.
The natives of Alaska and Canada, however, still prefer to hunt caribou rather than herding deer.
Both caribou and reindeer have hollow coats that keep them warm and help them stay afloat.
Deer - excellent swimmers, capable of overcoming wide rivers and even maneuvering between sea ice floes.
Calves are born in early spring. Thanks to the supply of so-called brown fat with which calves are born, they do not freeze. Already an hour and a half after birth, calves can run, so they usually do not lag behind the migrating herd.
Reindeer migrations are one of the most breathtaking sights in the world.
During the spring transitions, small groups of deer unite, gradually forming huge herds- up to 500 thousand rubles
individuals. In autumn, they again break into groups and go to winter in the forests. Some herds travel up to 5 thousand km per year.
Musk oxen, the same age as mammoths, are the largest ungulates in the Arctic. They graze in small groups, usually in lowlands and river valleys, where shrubs, their main food, grow in abundance.
Musk oxen, while resembling bison, are more closely related to sheep and goats. In ancient times, these animals were much more numerous, but during the Neolithic period they were almost completely exterminated by hunters.
Musk oxen are very massive herbivores: they can weigh up to 300 kg and reach 150 cm at the withers.
In addition to people, musk oxen are hunted by wolves.
Fleeing from danger, these animals quickly run, climb mountain slopes or defend themselves by using their massive sharp horns.
Musk oxen are perfectly adapted to survive in the harsh conditions of the Arctic: temperatures of -40 ° C, snowfall and strong wind they are not afraid.
The polar bear, or "nanuk" in the Inuit language, is the largest land mammal in the world.
However, the sea also plays a significant role in the life of these animals - hence Latin name Ursus maritimus, "sea bear".
The polar bear is a northern relative of the brown bear, lives on the mainland coast and the islands of the Arctic.
Moving on the ice floes, polar bears pursue their favorite prey - the ringed seal.
Sometimes they travel across the ice that covers the center of the Arctic.
Polar bears can swim for several days without stopping, and their excellent sense of smell allows them to detect polynyas where seals come to breathe, and at a very significant distance - over one and a half kilometers.
In those places where the ice cover completely disappears by the middle or end of summer, the bears have to move ashore for several months and wait for the water to freeze again.
Newborn cubs weigh less than a kilogram, and the weight of adult males can reach 800 kg.
The growth of large bears at the withers is on average 1.3-1.5 m. The bear is almost twice as small.
Polar bears are superbly adapted to the harsh Arctic conditions: their dense coat repels water, black skin attracts Sun rays, and a thick layer of fat does not freeze. Their milky white color makes them invisible to prey. Finally, polar bears have the ability to hibernate on the move: they are awake, but long time go without food.
In addition, arctic foxes, ermines, foxes, polar wolves, wolverines, various rodents, and hares live in the Arctic.
As far as birds are concerned, almost half of the world's shore bird species are concentrated in the Arctic.
On the Arctic coast are the so-called bird markets- bird colonies. The most numerous colonies in the Arctic are kittiwakes, thick-billed guillemots and little auks, other species are present in markets in smaller numbers. Northern Yakutia is home to one of the most rare birds on Earth - Siberian Crane (white crane).
More than 10 species of marine mammals live in the Arctic (these are dolphins and whales - blue, humpback, sperm whales and fin whales), as well as at least 10 species of pinnipeds - walruses and seals.
Birds, fish and marine mammals are especially common in the southern part of the ocean.
Life is in full swing at the bottom of the ocean, especially on shallow depth where sunlight enters.
So, off the coast of Iceland, scientists discovered representatives of 4 thousand species, and groups that differ significantly from each other live in different areas.
The Great Siberian Polynya in the Laptev Sea is another place with a high density of inhabitants. Walruses, ringed seals and bearded seals, as well as eiders, long-tailed ducks and other sea birds feed here.
AT Arctic waters Beluga whales live off the coast of Russia, Greenland, Canada and Alaska.
They are among the smallest species of whales: their body length is only 5 m. Because of the huge range of sounds they make - from chirping to roaring - these animals are called sea canaries.
Beluga whales are social animals, therefore they live in groups, and sometimes they can stray into entire herds of several hundred individuals.
They spend summer near the coast - in bays, shallow bays and estuaries, where they feed on fish, crustaceans and cephalopods.
In winter, beluga whales keep to the edges of the ice fields, but sometimes they penetrate far into the glaciation zone through narrow water tunnels.
In the coldest months, beluga whales can be trapped in ice and become prey for polar bears.
Due to the ability to echolocation, beluga whales are perfectly oriented under water and are able to find their way through the ice.
Toothed whales related to belugas - narwhals - all year round live in the fjords and bays of Canada and in the west of Greenland.
Narwhals are called sea unicorns: males have a long spiral canine in the upper jaw.
In its outer layer there are nerve endings, which means, according to some scientists, this is a special sensor with which the whale determines water pressure, its temperature and salt content.
Narwhals can dive very great depth- 1.5 thousand meters. Under drifting ice floes, they catch flounder and other fish.
Walruses live in arctic and subarctic waters from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean.
Males have huge fangs and coarse vibrissae hair (the organ of touch).
Their mass can reach 2 tons. Walruses spend most of their rather long (20-30 years) life in communities on ice floes and coasts of food-rich waters. They reach their enormous mass by feeding on animals that live on the seabed: mollusks, shrimps, crabs, worms and cold-water corals.
The walrus is still a very valuable prey for local hunters, who have found a use for almost every part of its carcass.
The Arctic and its inhabitants
The Arctic and its inhabitantsarctic desert
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Animals of the Arctic
The vast northern expanse, stretching from Iceland to the Aleutian Islands, is called the Arctic zone. This is the undivided realm of ice and cold. The icy waters of the Arctic Ocean, the endless tundra of the continents adjacent to the cold reservoir, the rocky islands with steep, ice-covered shores - this is what the Arctic is.
Everything here looks harsh, gloomy and unfriendly. Strong icy winds, fogs, heavy snowfalls, polar days and nights are integral components of this region.
It would seem that in such conditions a normal existence is simply impossible.
However, this is not the case. Among eternal ice and snowdrifts seething full-blooded life. This is evidenced by the cries of seagulls over the sea wave, and the roar of walruses, and the growl of polar bears, and high dorsal fins killer whales periodically appearing above the dark water surface. Animals of the Arctic- this is the name of this special living world that dared to challenge the powerful cold and the all-powerful permafrost.
Birds
The most numerous inhabitants of the vast expanses of the harsh North are birds. The pink gull is a fragile creature. Its weight does not exceed a quarter of a kilogram, and its body length barely reaches 35 cm. However, this bird feels quite at ease both in the harsh tundra and above the sea surface covered with drifting ice.
Kaira is a black and white bird. With her attire, she resembles a Catholic priest, and her behavior resembles a lively bazaar tradeswoman. She nests not on impregnable steep cliffs, but spends the winter on ice floes, without experiencing any discomfort.
In this row, you can put the common eider - the northern duck. It is not difficult for her to dive into icy water to a depth of 20 meters. The most ferocious and largest among birds is the polar owl.
It is a ruthless predator with yellow eyes and white plumage. It attacks both birds and rodents. Can also eat a cub more large animal- For example, a fox.
seals
These animals of the Arctic constitute a special cohort and have been living in the Arctic region for thousands of years.
These include the harp seal, which is very beautiful pattern on the skin. The sea hare is one of the largest seals. His height reaches 2.5 meters, and the whole is a little short of 400 kg.
harbor seal inferior in size to the sea hare, but it has very beautiful and expressive eyes. This friendly company also includes ringed seal. She is smaller than her brothers, but more mobile and knows how to dig holes in the snow.
walruses
The walrus is the closest relative of the seals.
He, like them, is a pinniped, but has more large sizes. The length of his body approaches 3 meters, and the weight fluctuates within a ton.
In addition, this animal has powerful fangs. He needs them in order to dig the seabed and thus get himself mollusks, which serve as his main food. Often walruses use their tusks for self-defense and attacks on other animals. After all, he is a real predator and can easily eat a gaping seal or seal.
Polar bear
All animals of the Arctic are afraid and therefore respect the polar bear.
This is largest land predator. The length of his body reaches 2.5 meters, weight half a ton. He attacks seals, seals, walruses. Its strong teeth are familiar to polar dolphins, and the arctic fox always feeds near this mighty beast, getting leftovers from the master's table. The polar bear swims well, dives, runs fast. He is the most formidable and dangerous predator arctic lands.
cetaceans
Of the order of cetaceans living in the Arctic, the narwhal is of undoubted interest in the first place.
He owes such popularity to his long horn, which sticks out right from his mouth. This horn reaches a length of 3 meters, and its weight is 10 kg. It is nothing more than an ordinary tooth that has grown to such a huge size. This tooth does not cause any inconvenience to a mammal, but why it is needed - there is no definite answer, although there are a lot of different assumptions.
The bowhead whale is a relative of the narwhal.
But its size is many times larger, and instead of a tooth, it has a whalebone and a huge tongue in its mouth. It is with his tongue that he licks plankton stuck in the whalebone plates.
This huge animal is absolutely harmless; it has been living in northern waters for many thousands of years.
White whale or polar dolphin is also a representative of this company.
This is a large animal - its weight reaches 2 tons, and its length is 6 meters. The beluga whale loves to eat fish very much - the killer whale never refuses to try the polar dolphin itself. It rightfully occupies one of the first places among the strongest and largest marine predators.
She is a frequent visitor in Arctic waters. From her sharp teeth, not only beluga whales die, but also walruses, seals and seals.
arctic fox
The animals of the Arctic would have lost a lot if there were not such a predator as the arctic fox among them.
Thanks to its beautiful fur, this animal is known far beyond the cold region. He is known in Africa, and in Australia, and in Brazil - after all, women wear fox fur coats in all corners of the world. The fox is a very small animal. Its weight barely reaches 5 kg, and the height at the withers does not exceed 30 cm.
But this kid is very hardy and fast. In addition, he loves to travel. It can be found in almost all corners of the Arctic. He often accompanies the polar bear, prudently keeping a respectful distance from the powerful predator.
Lemming
This little rodent, slightly larger than the mouse, is of great importance for the animal world of the Arctic.
Almost all animals feed on it, and the population of the snowy owl directly depends on its abundance. In those years when lemmings are scarce, predatory bird does not nest at all. The arctic fox also loses interest in traveling if the number of small rodents increases dramatically.
Wildlife of the Arctic - mammals, birds, predators and marine animals living in the Arctic
They eat it and reindeer although their diet mainly consists of plants.
Reindeer
A beautiful, fast, graceful animal, dressed in a warm short coat, and even having branched horns on its head, is none other than a reindeer.
He lives in the cold tundra, feeds on reindeer moss, which is also called reindeer moss, and feels quite comfortable in the Arctic region. The reindeer also inhabits many islands of a huge cold reservoir.
This animal has a weight of about two hundred kilograms, and the height at the withers does not exceed one and a half meters. Reindeer have very wide hooves. Thanks to them, he easily breaks the snow in winter and gets to the withered vegetation hiding under a snow coat.
Animals
arctic marine environment is the distribution area of many unique species animals, among which the most rare are the polar bear, narwhal, walrus and white whale. More than 150 species of fish inhabit arctic and subarctic waters, including cod and American flounder, which are important for fishing.
It is the fishery complex of the Arctic zone that provides up to 15% of the catch of aquatic biological resources and Russian Federation fish products.
Polar bear
The polar bear is the most powerful and strong land predator on the planet.
Neither lions, nor tigers, nor brown bears. In the largest individuals, the body length can reach 3 meters, the mass can reach up to a ton. Basically, the length is 2-2.5 meters, weight 450-500 kilograms. The height at the withers of these animals is usually 1.5 meters.
Females are smaller than males. They are almost one and a half times lighter in weight.
The habitat of a formidable predator is limited to the Arctic zone. In the north, the polar bear reaches 88 ° N. sh, in the south it reaches Newfoundland. On the mainland, it can only be found in the Arctic desert. It does not enter the tundra. Drifting ice - native home for the polar bear. Sometimes they carry the traveler to the Bering Sea and even the Sea of Okhotsk.
Once in such a situation, he always seeks to return back. Obeying the inner instinct, the bear strictly follows the north and, as a rule, gets to the Arctic lands after long days of toll-houses and wanderings.
Nature carefully covered the body of a polar bear with warm white fur.
Sometimes it is diluted with yellow spots. The bright summer sun rays are to blame for this, affecting the bear's coat in such a peculiar way. The skin of the beast is black or very dark. Beneath it is a thick layer of subcutaneous fat. In the back of the body, its thickness can reach 10 cm. On the chest and shoulders, it is 3-4 cm.
The polar bear is a great hunter.
He has excellent vision and sense of smell. He can feel the prey for a kilometer, and see for a few. The beast is characterized by patience and endurance. He can lie for hours near a hole in the ice and wait for a seal's head to emerge from the water. As soon as the victim sticks his nose out to take a healing breath of air, a powerful and swift paw strike follows.
The bear drags the stunned seal onto the ice, but does not eat it all, but only the skin and fat. He usually leaves the meat to Arctic foxes. Eat it only in hungry and difficult times.
This predator hunts well in the water. Sometimes he even dives under an ice floe, on which there are several seals. With its powerful body, the polar bear turns it over, and the poor pinnipeds that find themselves in the water immediately become easy prey for the mighty beast.
He does not shy away from walruses. True, it does not attack large males - it is limited to young animals or sick and weak animals.
Walrus
The walrus is a unique animal of the Arctic.
It belongs to the group of pinnipeds, the walrus family. The family has one genus and one species. The species is divided into two subspecies: the Pacific walrus and the Atlantic walrus. The habitat of the animal is extensive and covers almost most of the coastal waters of the Arctic Ocean. Walrus rookeries can be found on the western and eastern shores of Greenland, Svalbard and Iceland. Pinniped giants live on Novaya Zemlya and in the Kara Sea.
The walrus is a very large animal.
The body length of some individuals can reach 5 meters, and the mass can reach up to one and a half tons. The average length of the male is 3.5 meters, the weight varies within a ton. The females are smaller. Their usual length is usually 2.8-2.9 meters, weight is about 700-800 kg. All adult walruses have fangs protruding from their mouths. Their length reaches 60-80 cm, and each weighs at least 3 kg.
This pinniped has a very broad muzzle.
Thick and long mustaches grow on the upper lip. They are called vibrissae, somewhat reminiscent of a brush and are indispensable when detecting underwater mollusks. The eyes are small and nearsighted. The walrus really sees very poorly, but his sense of smell is excellently developed. There are no external ears, and short yellow-brown hair grows on the skin.
With age, the hairline is lost. Elderly walruses have completely bare skin.
The walrus is a herd animal.
Its habitat extends to coastal waters, where the depth does not exceed 50 meters. It is this water column that is considered optimal for him. The pinniped finds food on the seabed. Sensitive vibrissae help him in this. Shellfish are undoubtedly the priority.
The animal “plows” the muddy soil with its fangs and many shells rise up. The walrus grinds them with its front powerful callused flippers and thus splits the shell. It settles to the bottom, and the gelatinous bodies remain floating in the water column. The pinniped eats them and again plunges its fangs into the sea soil.
He needs to eat at least 50 kg of shellfish per day in order to get enough. Walruses do not like fish. They eat it very rarely, when there is simply no other way out.
common seal
The harbor seal lives in the eastern and western parts of the Arctic Ocean.
In the east, these are the Bering Sea, the Chukchi Sea and the Beaufort Sea. To the west is the Barents Sea and the southern coastal waters of Greenland. It also comes across in other seas of the Arctic, but in small quantities. It also inhabits the northern coastal waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and is also a permanent resident of the Baltic Sea.
In their appearance, seals from different regions differ little. Unless the animals living in the east or Pacific seals are somewhat larger than their western (Atlantic) counterparts. In total, there are 500 thousand heads today.
The body length of an ordinary seal ranges from 1.85 m, weight is 160 kg. Males are somewhat larger than females, otherwise they are practically the same.
characteristic hallmark these animals are V-shaped nostrils. From them you can immediately recognize this animal, regardless of the color of the skin. The coloring is different. It contains brown, gray and red tones. The predominantly reddish-gray color of the coat. On it, all over the body, small brown or black spots are scattered, resembling oblong strokes.
On the back there are patterns of black-brown spots. Quite often, seals have black spots on the muzzle, head, and tail. Cubs are born the same color as their parents. They do not have white fur in the first weeks of life, like some other species.
The common seal feeds on fish. Its menu includes smelt, polar cod, navaga, capelin, and herring.
He does not disdain and invertebrates. This animal lives in coastal waters, ignoring long journeys. At the end of summer and autumn, it lies on spits and shoals subject to ebbs and flows.
Avoids open spaces and wide coastlines. Swims and dives well.
Narwhal
In the order of cetaceans, there are a huge number various kinds mammals. The most notable among them are the narwhals.
They owe such popularity to their long horn or tusk, which sticks out directly from the mouth and reaches a length of 3 meters. This tusk consists of bone tissue, but along with hardness, it is extremely flexible. In reality, it is nothing more than one of the two upper teeth that has pierced the upper lip and crawled out.
Such a tusk weighs 10 kg.
Narwhal is a fairly large animal.
In length, some representatives of this species reach 5 meters. The usual length fluctuates within 4 meters. The weight of the male is one and a half tons. Females weigh from 900 kg to a ton. For some reason, this mammal does not have a dorsal fin.
Only lateral fins and a powerful tail are available. The head of the narwhal is round, the frontal tubercle is prominent on it.
The mouth is set low and very small. The belly of a light-colored mammal. The back and head are much darker.
The entire upper body is covered with grayish-brown spots of various sizes, making the back and head even darker. The eyes are small, deeply recessed, with actively circulating intraocular fluid. That is, they are fully adapted to the harsh Arctic conditions, and besides, they are also endowed with sharp eyesight.
Narwhals feed mainly on mollusks and crustaceans.
Fish is also included in their diet. The same cod, flounder, halibut and goby are an integral part of the menu of these animals. When hunting bottom fish, the male often uses his tusk. He scares the victim with it, makes it rise from the bottom.
arctic fox
Arctic fox or polar fox belongs to the species of foxes of the canine family, is a predator. Its habitat is very extensive.
He lives in the polar tundra of Eurasia and North America, in Greenland and Svalbard. Habitual in Novaya Zemlya, Severnaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land. The islands of the Northern Canadian archipelago are also his original fiefdom. It also lives on many other islands in the Arctic Ocean. In winter, he migrates in search of a better life both north and south. It can also be found among arctic ice, invariably following the polar bear, both in the lower reaches of the Amur and in the harsh Baikal taiga.
It travels thousands of kilometers and can get from Taimyr to Alaska in a few months.
The arctic fox cannot boast of large sizes. Its body length ranges from 50 to 75 cm. Fluffy tail is 25-30 cm long. The height at the withers reaches 30 cm, the weight does not exceed 10 kg.
In the bulk of their mass, males, in fertile, satisfying times, weigh 5-6 kg. Females are more graceful - their weight is 500 grams less. In this beast, the soles of the paws are securely covered with hair.
Prudent nature did this so that the animal would not freeze them. The ears are also wrapped in thick fur and are quite small. This does not prevent the fox from hearing perfectly. He also has an excellent sense of smell, but his eyesight, like all dogs, is not sharp. The muzzle is shortened, the body is squat. If you need to give a voice, then the polar fox yelps.
It can also growl to scare the enemy.
With the onset of cold weather, the tundra becomes hungry. Fluffy predator is forced to leave their homes. Part of the arctic fox rushes to the north into the Arctic ice zone. Animals nestle near polar bears and relentlessly follow them. Those are excellent hunters.
They catch seals, narwhals, belugas. Eating the skin and fat of their victims, the meat is left to the arctic fox. Another part of the polar foxes is moving south. They reach the taiga places. There is a lot of food, unlike the bare tundra, but a lot large predators representing a real threat to a small beast.
Wolves, foxes, wolverines destroy arctic foxes. Those who manage to survive rush back to the tundra in the spring.
Animals of the Arctic deserts of Russia
They return to their labyrinths, and the seasonal life cycle is repeated again.
Lemming
A small, fur-wrapped animal from the rodent family of the vole subfamily is called the lemming.
Its habitat extends to the tundra regions of Eurasia and North America. This animal also inhabits the islands of the Arctic Ocean. It can be found on almost the entire coastal territory of the Arctic from White Sea to Bering. He is a native of Novaya Zemlya, Severnaya Zemlya, the New Siberian Islands and Wrangel Island. This baby lives almost everywhere where there is at least some kind of vegetation. It has several species - all of them are perfectly adapted to the harsh polar conditions.
The color of the lemming's coat is variegated, one-color gray or gray-brown.
In some species, the fur becomes lighter in winter. In the ungulate lemming, the skin turns white. The animal almost completely merges with snow cover. The body length of the rodent ranges from 10 to 15 cm. The mass is about 50-70 grams. It has short legs, a tail no longer than 2 cm, and tiny ears completely hidden in fur.
Basically, lemmings lead a solitary lifestyle, but some species are combined into small groups.
They live in burrows, in winter they settle under the snow. They eat plant foods. Their diet contains sedge, moss, leaves and young shoots of willow and birch. The rodent also consumes cloudberries, blueberries, and other berries. In good years, it multiplies rapidly. In times of famine, there is a mass departure of this animal from their homes. Lemmings make their way to more satisfying regions one by one. Near rivers and straits they accumulate in huge flocks.
The rodent swims very well, therefore water barriers overcome successfully. But in any case, many animals die from the teeth and claws of land and aquatic predators.
Reindeer
The reindeer is artiodactyl mammals animals of the deer family.
Its distribution area covers the lands of the northern part of Eurasia and North America. It can be found in the west of the Kola Peninsula, in Karelia, in Kamchatka, in Western Chukotka. There is also in the north of Sakhalin. It lives in large numbers on the islands of the seas of the Arctic Ocean, feels great in Alaska and northern Canada.
The body length of the animal is 2-2.2 meters. Weight ranges from 120 to 210 kg.
The height at the withers reaches 1.4 meters. There are also smaller deer. Their height does not exceed 1.2 meters. Reindeer living in the tundra, as well as on the islands of the Arctic Ocean, are inferior in size to their southern counterparts, who prefer to live in the taiga regions. The body of the artiodactyl is elongated, squat. A mane grows on the animal's neck. It does not differ in great length, in some deer it is almost invisible.
The reindeer's diet consists mainly of plants.
In the first place is reindeer moss or reindeer moss. The animal takes it out from under the snow coat, scattering it with its hooves. Other lichens, grass, and berries are also eaten.
Deer and mushrooms do not disdain. Eats eggs of birds, gaping rodents. It can also eat an adult bird, if it has the opportunity. AT winter time quenches thirst by eating snow.
drinking sea water, and in large quantities to maintain salt balance in the body. For the same reason, it gnaws at discarded horns. Sometimes deer gnaw each other's antlers precisely because of the lack of mineral salts in the diet.
pink seagull
The pink gull belongs to the genus of gulls of the gull family.
This small beautiful and fragile bird lives in the harsh regions of the Arctic. She chooses places for nesting in the lower reaches of the cold northern rivers.
On the islands and shores of these full-flowing streams flowing into the Arctic Ocean, she builds nests.
Indigirka, Kolyma, Yana, Anadyr - these are the rivers that are her home. She also loves Lake Taimyr, as well as the tundra adjacent to it. It is the tundra and forest-tundra, in summer period are its habitat. Like the pink gull and Greenland, especially the west coast. In winter, the baby moves to the sea. It can be seen both in the Norwegian Sea and in the Bering Sea.
This graceful bird travels almost all ice-free waters of the Arctic.
The body length of the pink gull does not exceed 35 cm. The mass is 250 grams. The back of the bird and the top of the wings are gray-gray in color. The head is pale pink - almost white, the chest is pinkish, the beak is black, and the legs are red.
The neck, in the summer, is edged with a narrow black stripe. It disappears in winter. The tail is wedge-shaped. The pink gull swims beautifully in river water.
In the seas, she prefers to sit on ice floes: sea bathing does not appeal to her because of the low water temperature.
During the nesting period along the banks of the northern rivers, the pink gull feeds on insects and small mollusks.
In the sea, the bird eats fish and crustaceans. Sometimes it flies up to the dwellings of people in order to profit from food near them. Itself also becomes an object of hunting. The same arctic foxes eat the eggs of these birds, and reindeer do not refuse them. Man also puts his hand to it. People exterminate an adult seagull because of its beautiful and original color. From dead birds, craftsmen make stuffed animals that cost good money, which in no way can serve as an excuse for such activities.
Guillemot
Kaira belongs to the genus of birds from the auk family.
She is the original inhabitant of the polar region. All its business activity takes place at the edge of drifting ice. She hunts near them, and nests on impregnable rocks, which are not far from the endless ice field. The bird lives on the shores of Greenland, Novaya Zemlya, Iceland. Her native home is Svalbard and Franz Josef Land.
In the east, its life zone is limited to the Aleutian Islands and Kodiak Island off the southern coast of Alaska. It densely populated almost the entire northern coast of Eurasia, which indicates its large number. To date, there are more than 3 million of these birds, which is really a lot, but at the same time, for the vast Arctic, the figure is not very significant.
The bird is of medium size.
The length of her body ranges from 40 to 50 cm. The weight ranges from 800 grams to one and a half kilograms. The wings are small in relation to the body.
Therefore, it is difficult for a bird to take off. To rise from the water into the air, she needs to run at least 10 meters across the water surface. But it is convenient for her to start her flight from high rocks. She rushes down, spreading her wings, and soaring above the ground smoothly turns into flight. In its plumage, the guillemot gravitates towards the classical style. Top part her body is black, the underside is white. The beak is also black, but the neck changes color depending on the season.
In winter it is snow-white, and in warm time turns black for years. There are two types of guillemots: thin-billed and thick-billed.
They only hunt underwater.
They dive to a depth of 15-20 meters. Fish are caught in this water column. There are murre capelin, cod, polar cod, likes herring, gerbil. In addition to fish, sea worms, shrimp, and crabs get into her stomach. During the long polar day, the bird eats at least 300 grams of various marine life.
It is noteworthy that about 200 grams of the waste product comes out back through the intestines. It contains many organic substances that serve as nutritious food for the same fish and shellfish. The latter actively multiply and again enter the stomach of the bird.
This once again proves that nature is very rational and practical.
snowy owl
Snowy Owl or White Owl, as it is also called, belongs to the genus of owls of the order of owls. This is big bird, whose habitat extends to polar tundra Eurasia and North America, as well as the islands of the Arctic Ocean.
This bird lives in Greenland, Novaya Zemlya, Severnaya Zemlya. She is constantly seen on the New Siberian Islands and on Wrangel Island. It lives on Svalbard, on Franz Josef Land, on Jan Mayen Island, Alaska and on the islands of the Bering Sea.
It is present on the islands of Kolguev and Vaigach, that is, it practically inhabits the entire Arctic, not losing even the most remote and small areas of land from its area of attention.
The snowy owl has a pretty big body. Its length, in males, is 55-65 cm, females are larger. They reach a length of 70 cm. The weight of males ranges from 2-2.5 kg - the fairer sex is heavier.
Sometimes females have a mass of 3.2 kg, more often their weight corresponds to 3 kg. The wingspan reaches 165 cm. The bird has a round head and bright yellow eyes. The ears are very small - they are almost invisible. The beak is painted black. At the same time, it is almost completely covered with feathers. Only the tip is visible. The legs are covered with long tufts of feathers, very much like wool.
The claws are black, as is the beak.
The polar owl clearly gravitates towards open spaces. The bird always hunts from the ground, settling in an elevated place. She surveys the surroundings, looks out for prey, and when she sees a rodent, she flaps her wings heavily, flies up to him and clings to the doomed victim with her sharp claws.
Small animals are swallowed whole. big booty tear apart and eat. Wool and bones burp in the form of small lumps. A snowy owl eats at least 4 rodents a day to get enough. It prefers to hunt in the early morning or evening hours.
An animal of the Arctic, the seal is a representative of the "real seals" family. These animals are distributed polarly and are found in all the seas that adjoin the Arctic Ocean. Common seals belong to the family of predatory mammals, the group of pinnipeds. They are related to the marten family. The Red Book lists two subspecies of seals (the European seal and the Steineger or island seal).
Seals inhabit the coastal waters of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, as well as the North and Baltic Seas. The harbor seal is brown, gray or rufous in color and has characteristic V-shaped nostrils. Females in nature live 35, and males up to 20 years. This animal of the Arctic usually inhabits rocky places where there is no access for predators. The number of the global population of seals is from 400 to 500 thousand individuals. Some subspecies are in danger of extinction. For example. the subspecies Phoca vitulina is protected by the Wadden Sea Treaty.
general description
The length and body weight of seals varies greatly: from 1.5 to 6 m and from 95 kg to 3 tons. The smallest species of seal is the ringed seal, and the largest is sea elephants. The latter are the largest among pinnipeds. Seals have developed sexual dimorphism, especially in species such as lionfish and hooded seals. But it is shown to the extreme in sea elephants, whose males have largest size among all seals.
The shape of the seal's body is fusiform, the small head narrows noticeably in front. The neck is sedentary and short, the external auricles are completely absent. Vibrissae are located on the upper lip in 10 rows. They are not as tough as those of walruses. The tail is well defined, but short. The front flippers are less than 25% of the entire length of the body, they are much smaller than the rear ones. In most species, the claws are well developed on all flippers. The fins do not have a skin-cartilaginous rim that supports their edges.
In newborns of some species, the fur is soft and thick, often white. It persists in seals for three or more weeks. In adults, the hairline is coarse, without pronounced underfur. Elephant seals have almost no hair at all. The coloration of the fur of seals is the most varied, and sometimes it is striped or spotted. During the period of seasonal molting in seals, not only the coat changes, but also the horny layer of the skin, which peels off in whole layers.
Lifestyle and nutrition
The main species of seals settle along the coastline north of 30°N. sh. and south of 50°S sh., in temperate and cold waters of both hemispheres. They are few in the tropics, and in Indian Ocean do not meet at all. Seals also inhabit some freshwater lakes - Baikal and Ladoga.
Animal seal feeds on fish, crustaceans and cephalopods. The leopard seal attacks penguins and other seal species. They swim by moving their hind flippers and helping themselves with the lateral bends of the muscular part of the body. If necessary, in short sections they develop speeds up to 25 km / h. Seals dive well, but on land they are clumsy and clumsy. This is due to their inability to rely on their rear flippers. They can only crawl, bending their body from side to side.
Seals are adapted to lead an aquatic lifestyle and to live in low temperatures. A resident of the Arctic, the seal spends most of its time in the water. While diving, their nostrils and ear openings close tightly and do not allow water to penetrate inside, to the organs of smell and hearing. In the water, seals emit ultrasounds with which they can detect prey. The sound ricochets off the surface of the fish's body, and then it is picked up by the seals. Seals have poor eyesight, but their eyes are perfectly adapted to tracking prey underwater in low light.
The coat of the seal consists of short, sparse and coarse hair, has no undercoat and does not protect the body from hypothermia. This function is performed by a layer of subcutaneous fat. It, in turn, reduces the specific gravity of the animal's body, making swimming easier.
Arctic seals feed on various aquatic organisms. Some species prefer shellfish and crustaceans, while others only eat fish. As carnivores, seals are similar in their tooth structure to carnivorous mammals. But, despite the fact that the life of seals is closely connected with the aquatic environment, they have not lost contact with the land. Seals are forced to leave the water from time to time to sleep, molt and breed.
reproduction
During breeding, most seals stay in pairs. The seal is generally a monogamous animal. Only long-snouted seals and elephant seals are marked by polygamy. Seals molt and breed most often on the ice, and not on the shore. The duration of pregnancy is 280-350 days, after which the females give birth to one cub at a time. They feed their babies with fat, nutritious milk. A newborn seal cub is born already sighted, fully formed, relatively large, covered with thick white fur (in harp seals and ringed seals) or olive-brown (in sea hares). White baby pups are hardly noticeable against the background of ice floes covered with snow, which is extremely important for those of them that lie on the snow without cover (for example, among harp seals). But usually females hide their cubs from predators in snow holes between ice hummocks, which contributes to their survival to a greater extent. Baby bearded seals are also safe, as their mothers stay with them near the air-hole on the ice and during a blizzard they are brought on top of a thick layer of snow. So under the snow a spacious hole is formed, connected through an air vent with an exit under the ice.
In females, lactation lasts from one month in the northern elephant seal, up to 5 days in the hooded seal. In search of food, lactating females of hooded seals swim far into the sea, unlike females, for example, eared seals, which stay near the shore. Feeding usually stops when the cubs are not yet able to feed on their own. So, they are forced to starve from 2 to 12 weeks, surviving at the expense of accumulated fat reserves. But this does not prevent the population from maintaining its constant size.
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 stay under water for a long time, but they need to constantly come up 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 in various 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 being 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. The mating games of birds take place 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. During the 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!
An animal of the Arctic, the seal belongs to the representatives of the family of true seals. These animals live in all the seas adjacent to the Arctic Ocean. Arctic seals are part of the pinnipeds group. It should also be noted that they are predators.
The coat color of seals can be brown, gray or red. To characteristic physiological features these animals can still have V-shaped nostrils. The life expectancy of females is on average 35 years, while males live about 20 years.
Arctic seals usually inhabit rocky areas where they can be reached by predators. The population of these animals around the world is 400-500 thousand individuals.
general description
The body length of this animal can vary from 1.5 to 6 m, and weight - from 100 kg to 3 tons. Among pinnipeds, the smallest species is the ringed seal, and the largest is the elephant seal. Among seals, sexual dimorphism is quite pronounced, especially in such varieties as hooded seal and lionfish.
The seal has a spindle-shaped body. It has a not very large head narrowed in front, a short and inactive neck, external auricles are completely absent. The Arctic seal has special whiskers - vibrissae, which are arranged in 10 rows and are located on the upper lip.
Seals are very good swimmers. In this they are helped by the hind flippers and lateral bends of the muscular part of the body. If extreme circumstances arise and it is necessary to flee or pursue, then at short distances predators are able to reach speeds of up to 30 km / h.
The animal also has a well-defined tail, but it is rather short. The front flippers are much smaller than the rear flippers, and their length is slightly less than 25% of the total body length. Most species of this animal have very well developed claws. The fins lack a skin-cartilaginous rim that supports their edges.
In some species of newborn individuals, the fur is quite thick and soft, almost always has White color. In cubs, this hairline lasts an average of 3-4 weeks. With age, the animal's coat becomes much coarser. As for such inhabitants of the Arctic as elephant seals, they have no hairline at all.
The seals of the Arctic zone have a very various colors, it can sometimes be spotted or striped. When seasonal molting occurs, not only fur changes in animals, but also the stratum corneum of the skin, which can fall off in whole layers.
Lifestyle and nutrition
Most species of arctic seals prefer to settle along the coastline, in cold and temperate waters. In general, seals live in almost all oceans except the Indian.
As for what seals eat in the Arctic, here the animal does not have such a rich choice. The basis of their diet is mainly fish, crustaceans and cephalopods. The sea leopard is able to hunt penguins, as well as other varieties of seals.
Wool adult The seal does not have an undercoat, so it is not able to protect the animal from hypothermia. The protective function is perfectly performed by subcutaneous fat. In addition to protecting against hypothermia, it also reduces the body weight of the animal, which greatly facilitates the swimming process.
Water for them is the environment in which they are fast and agile, but when they land on land, they become rather clumsy and slow. This can be explained by the fact that they are physically unable to lean on their rear flippers. On land, seals move by crawling, bending their body from side to side.
Arctic seals are well adapted to climatic conditions with low temperatures. Creatures spend most of their lives in water. They dive superbly, and during this process their auricles and nostrils close tightly, preventing water from penetrating to the organs of hearing and smell.
Seals detect their prey by emitting ultrasonic waves. The process is as follows: the sound coming from the predator is reflected from the surface of the body of a potential victim, after which it returns to the hunter again. As for vision, it is poorly developed in seals, but under water, in low light, the predator is able to monitor its prey.
Despite the fact that the main part of the life of seals takes place in the aquatic environment, they still have not completely lost contact with the land. From time to time, animals have to leave their main environment in order to sleep, reproduce, and also undergo the process of molting.