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THE NORTH AND SOUTH POLES are the coldest places
on Earth. But despite freezing temperatures, icy water, and
biting winds, many different plants and animals live near
the poles and are found nowhere else in the world. All
survive because they have adapted to the harsh
conditions. Plants in these regions are low-growing, to
protect them from the cold wind, and they complete their
life cycle during the few short weeks of the summer. Polar
animals, too, have adapted to the cold conditions; some
have thick fur or feathers; others have a layer of fatty
blubber to conserve body warmth. The biggest animals, the
great whales, roam the waters of Antarctica, near the South
Pole and the largest bear, the polar bear, lives in the Arctic,
near the North Pole. Many other warm-blooded animals,
including wolves, foxes, reindeer, hares, and lemmings,
also live here. Polar animals are often white in color for camouflage on the
ice. The cold seas are also teeming with life, particularly in summer. Around
Antarctica, ocean currents bring up nutrients from the deep sea to
feed the plankton, which in turn feeds animals such as krill.NARwHAL
The narwhal belongs to the whale family.
It hunts in small groups among pack ice
searching for cod, flatfish, shrimps, and squid.
Narwhals have only two teeth. In the male, the
left tooth usually develops into a tusk, which
can measure up to 8 ft (2.5 m) long.POLAR BEAR
The huge polar bear is
covered in thick, water-
repelling fur, except for its
footpads and the tip of its
nose. Polar bears have an
excellent sense of smell for
locating prey, and they can
bound across the ice at great
speed. An adult polar bear
weighs about half a ton. It is
so strong that a single blow
of its paw can kill a person.ARcTIc SkUA
The skua snatches food from other
birds, such as gulls and puffins. It
pesters them in midair until they
drop their catch of fish.BEARDED SEAL
Bearded seals live all around the Arctic
region, mainly in shallow water. They eat shellfish
on the seabed, as well as crabs and sea cucumbers.
In the breeding season, male bearded seals make
eerie noises underwater. The female seals give
birth to pups on ice floes in the spring.HOODED SEAL
In the summer, hooded seals migrate
north to the waters around Greenland.
They hunt deep-water fish, such as
halibut and redfish, as well as squid.
They spend the winter farther
south, off northeastern North
America, resting on ice floes
and rarely coming on to land.NORTH POLE
In the central Arctic Ocean
at the top of the globe, there
are vast areas of drifting ice
many feet thick.The male
hooded seal
inflates the
hood—a sac
of loose skin
on its nose—
to scare off
other males.POLAR BEAR cUBS
Young polar bears are born in the winter in a den made by
their mother under the snow. The cubs stay in the den for four
months, feeding on their mother’s milk, and then begin to learn
how to hunt. The cubs leave their mother at about two years old.Polar wildlife 414-
Polar bears eat seals, fish, birds,
and small mammals. They also
scavenge on the carcasses
(dead bodies) of whales.Claws are very
sharp for
gripping prey.SOUTH POLE
At the bottom of the globe,
the continent of Antarctica is
almost completely covered
by a massive sheet of ice.US_414_Polar_Wildlife_1.indd 414 22/01/16 4:46 pm