Adaptation of Animals in the North Pole

Adaptations of a polar bear

Polar bears are strong swimmers; they swim across bays or wide leads without hesitation. They can swim for several hours at a time over long distances. A polar bears front paws propel them through the water, dog- paddle style. The hind feet and legs are held flat and are used as rudders.

A thick layer of blubber (fat), up to 11cm(4.3in) thick, keeps the polar bear warm while swimming in cold water. Polar bears can obtain a swimming speed of 10kph. The hair of a polar bear easily shakes free of water and any ice that may form After swimming. A polar bears nostrils close when under water.

Adaptations of a harp seal

The white coat of a baby harpseal makes it hard for enemies to spot the young seal on ice. Harp seals are clumsy on land but very good swimmers. Their strong flippers and smooth bodies help them move easily in the water. Seals are able to dive deep and stay underwater for half and hour.

The seals fur and thick layer of fat under their skin help them keep warm in the freezing cold water. Harp seals are mammals and need to come up for air. If ice forms on the surface of the water they gnaw (chew) the ice to make breathing holes. They also bash the ice with their heads.

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Adaptations of a penguin
The downy under portion of the feathers trap a layer of air against the skin. This layer of air is then warmed by body heat, much the way our body heats the air in a down jacket. Their feathers overlap like shingles on a roof and form a barrier, keeping water away from skin. Penguins also have a layer of blubber, or fat, under the skin.

As a rule, larger penguins like colder areas. This is because larger, rounder bodies lose heat slower than smaller, slimmer bodies. This explains why Antarctica's emperor penguins which survive in the harshest winters, are the largest penguins in the world. Some penguin species have bare patches (heat windows) around their eyes. These areas have no feathers and allow excess heat to escape. The patches become pink when the penguin is warm.

Penguins can voluntarily raise their feathers to let warm air escape. Penguins have many tiny blood vessels (capillaries) close to the skin on their wings, which helps them to cool down by just holding their wings out and letting the air move across them. Penguins can also release heat through their feet, Where they have a counter- current blood exchange.

Their streamlined body, webbed feet and oar like wings enable penguins to shoot through the water at speeds up to 15 miles per hour. It is often said that penguins look like they are flying through the water.

Underwater quickness and the ability to hold their breath aid penguins in catching prey. All penguins use their short, stiff wing for propulsion and their webbed feet for steering. The position of the body aids in both steering and hydrodynamics.

Penguins have black backs and white bellies. This pattern of coloration is called counter shading and serves to camouflage the bird when it is in the water. Since penguins spend most of their time in the ocean, this coloration is an effective form of protection. Countershading also helps the penguins hunt with more success.

Most birds have hollow bones, making them lighter for flying. Penguins , however, have solid bones , making them heavier and making it easier to dive underwater for food. Penguins have almondshaped glands beneath the skin above their eyes that help them filter out the excess salt from the ocean. When the salt drips down their beak, the penguins make a sneeze- like sound, and they are able to shake it off.

Adaptations of an arctic wolf.

The wolf may be the most misunderstood animal in the world, and the Arctic wolf the least- known of all wolves. Arctic wolves live on the island of Canadian Arctic, and the north coast of Greenland.

Their world is extremely harsh as well as remote, and few scientists venture there. As a result, the details of their lives through much of the year are virtually known. Arctic wolves have special adaptations that make them distinct from other members of the Lupus family (gray wolves).

They are nearly pure white and their fur thicker than a graywolf. To minimize exposure to the cold, their ears are smaller and more rounded muzzles are slightly shorter. They are bulkier in build as well and often weigh over 100 pounds (45 kg).Their hunting ranges are extensive, often 800-1,000 square miles, and they will kill and eat virtually any animal they can catch. Birds are also occasionally part of the diet.

Adaptation of a walrus
To be equipped for the ice, the walrus has reversible hind flippers which enable it to keep its balance. The flippers are also bumpy to keep it sliding off the ice, where it spends most of its life. To survive, the walrus has an extremely thick coat of blubber. The coat remains to protect the walrus all year. This layer can be up to 3 inches thick. If it did not have this extra flesh, it would freeze.

Since the walrus swim to find its food, it like all other pinnipeds, has a torpedo shaped body to swim quickly through the water. It also has a clear eyelid instead of a solid one to see , and protect its eye while underwater, when the walrus dives, the blood moves its skin to its organs to keep the animal warm, when it surfaces, the color of its skin is pinkish brown. Then, the walrus sunbathes on the ice floe to make its blood return to its skin.

Adaptations of a killer whale

Killer whales are found in all oceans and waters of the world from tropical to ice bergland. The reason killer whales are able to adapt to next to all climates is their thick layer of body fat (blubber). The thick blubber insulates the killer whale and maintains their body temperature (around degrees) even in the coldest of waters.

Adaptation of a beluga whale

Beluga whales deposit most of their body fat into a thick layer of blubber- a thick layer of fat and fibrous connective tissue that lies just below the skin of marine mammals. Blubber accounts for more than 40% of beluga whales weight. This blubber layer insulates the whale and streamlines the body. It also functions as energy reserve.

Beluga whales, like other marine mammals, have a slower heart rate while diving. A beluga whale s heart rate slows from about 100 to about 12 to 20 beats per minute during a dive. When a beluga whale dives, blood is shunted away from the surface of the skin. This decrease in circulation conserves body heat.

Adaptation of the reindeer

Caribou / Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)
Caribou are the only member of the deer family in which both sexes have antlers. The Barrenground and Woodland caribou subspecies are native to North America.

Woodland caribou were plentiful in Nova Scotia until illegal hunting, disease, and the loss of their habitat led to the decrease in population at the turn of the century.

In Scandinavian countries, the European subspecies is commonly called reindeer. These animals are domesticated and are used as work animals. Caribou have many adaptations to help them survive the winter. Weighing as much as 250 kg, caribou have heavy outer coats with woolly fur underneath. Most are brown or grey with some white, but in the winter their fur is lighter in color.

Their hooves are broad, flat and deeply cleft to help them walk on ice or snow and in soft bogs and marshes. They also function as paddles when swimming, efficient scoops to uncover lichens, and give them a firm footing on sharp edges and rock. The caribou's main diet is "caribou moss". They also eat green plants and twigs from woody plants. In the fall, the males fight for their harem of 5 to 40 females. The young calves, born in late May or early June, walk in two hours, nurse for two months and join the herd in fall.

Adaptations of an Arctic Hare

The arctic hare lives in the harsh environment of the North American tundra. These hares do not hibernate, but survive the dangerous cold with a number of behavioral and physiological adaptations. They sport thick fur and enjoy a low surface area to volume ratio that conserves body heat, most evident in their shortened ears. These hares sometimes dig shelters in snow and huddle together to share warmth.

Hares are a bit larger than rabbits, and they typically have taller hind legs and longer ears. Like other hares and rabbits, Arctic hares are fast and can bound at speeds of up to 60 kilometers an hour. In winter, they sport a brilliant white coat that provides excellent camouflage in the land of ice and snow. In spring, the hare's colors change to blue-gray in approximation of local rocks and vegetation.

Arctic hares are sometimes loners but they can also be found in groups of dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of individuals. Unlike many mammals, arctic hare groups disperse rather than form during mating season. Animals pair off and define mating territories, though a male may take more than one female partner. Females give birth to one litter per year, in spring or early summer. Two to eight young hares grow quickly and by September resemble their parents. They will be ready to breed the following year.

Food can be scarce in the Arctic, but the hares survive by eating woody plants, mosses, and lichens which they may dig through the snow to find in winter. In other seasons they eat buds, berries, leaves, roots, and bark. Traditionally, the arctic hare has been important to Native Americans. These fairly plentiful animals are hunted as a food resource and for their fur, which is used to make clothing.

The End