How Many Species of Animals Live in the Arctic

Arctic Wildlife

The Chill is abode to wild adventures, unique culture and cuisine, and, of class, some unforgettable animals! Here, we have your guide to some of the incredible creatures travellers will have the adventure to spot on a trip to the Chill.

Polar bears

Polar bears - some of the well-nigh famous Chill inhabitants - tin be constitute in Alaska, northern Canada, Greenland, and Kingdom of norway's Svalbard Archipelago. Travellers set on catching a glimpse of these majestic white bears should travel in the summer when some Arctic ice has melted and the bears will spend more time on shore. Polar bears in the wild are an incredible sight to behold, but make sure yous e'er listen to your guide's communication and practice reasonable safety precautions when you're anywhere about them.

Depending on when y'all visit, the likelihood of seeing polar bears can be very loftier, so program accordingly. Polar bears eat seals (bearded and ringed) almost exclusively, but take been known to also eat walrus, whale, birds' eggs, and, very occasionally, vegetation. Female person polar bears can grow to be up to 2.iv metres (7.9 feet) on their hind legs and weigh up to 250 kilograms (551 pounds), while males can achieve upwardly to 3 metres (9.8 feet) on their hind legs and 450 kilograms (992 pounds).
Larn when and where to meet polar bears .

Arctic fox

In the winter, the arctic flim-flam'due south grey fur turns pure white, allowing them to seamlessly blend in with the snow effectually them. The chill fox is the only mammal native to Iceland, and visitors can even explore the Arctic Play tricks Centre in Sudavik, home to two live chill foxes rescued equally pups in 2015. Iceland isn't the but identify travellers can find chill foxes, though; these animals live across the entirety of the Arctic Tundra. During winter, arctic foxes can be plant following polar bears for their leftovers. The best time to see arctic foxes is during a brilliant Arctic dark in the summer - while they often stay in their dens during the day, at dark they're much more agile and easy to spot.
Chill wolf

These predators of the Arctic are smaller than grey wolves, and retain body heat with their smaller ears and shorter muzzles. Adults will grow to exist but under two metres long with their tails and weigh betwixt 45 and 70 kilograms (99 and 154 pounds). Thanks to their isolated habitats, arctic wolves are the just sub-species of wolf whose population isn't currently threatened. Hunting in packs, chill wolves live on muskox, arctic hares, and caribou. Arctic wolves live in Due north America and Greenland, and the best time to come across them is dawn, when they'll be out for the chase .
Reindeer

There are 15 subspecies of reindeer, and most of them live above the treeline (the bespeak subsequently which trees cannot abound) in the Arctic. Reindeer are famously migratory - the reindeer migration is the biggest migration among terrestrial animals (fifty-fifty including the swell migration in Africa!), moving as much as 5,000 kilometres (3,106 miles) per year. Travellers will find reindeer on high footing in Norway, Alaska, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, and Russia, and travellers heading to Norway should try to time their visit with the months of January to February to witness the migration for themselves.
Muskox

Visitors looking to see this impressive beast should head to the due north of Canada, Alaska, Greenland, and Russia, but a small population of muskox also reside in Scandinavia. They are one of the few big mammals able to live in the Chill year-round! While travellers should exist able to meet muskox twelvemonth-circular, calves are built-in in late April or May. Withal, note that their young are not always easy to spot! Wolves prey on the calves, and to protect the young, muskox stand in a defensive circle and use their large horns to scare off predators.
Chill hare

Found in the harsh North American tundra, arctic hares survive the winter past feeding on woody plants and lichens and earthworks upwards shelters where they huddle together, rather than hibernating. Infant hares are born brownish, but turn white after iv weeks. Travellers interested in seeing those babies should visit in jump or early summer!
Canada lynx

While lynxes - medium cats with beautiful coats of fur and unusually large paws which act equally snowshoes - are revered animals, they're also extremely hard to spot. Constitute in Alaska and Canada, Canada lynxes avoid people, and travellers shouldn't expect to see 1 on their travels. That being said, their mating period takes identify in March and April, and there may be more lynxes around during this time.

Walrus

These imposing creatures can grow up to weight more than than 2,000 kilograms! (4,409 pounds) You'll often find them relaxing on sunny beaches, so if walruses are what you're after, time your visit with the midnight sunday. While the massive Pacific walrus lives in Alaska and the e of Russia, travellers can find smaller species in Svalbard, Greenland, and certain regions of northern Canada. Known for their long tusks, which are really canine teeth that can grow upward to three feet long, walruses are by and large sociable simply tin can get aggressive during mating season from December through March.

Harp seal

You'll observe harp seals - and their adorable pups - breeding in Newfoundland (located in Canada), Greenland, and the White Sea in tardily February and early on March. Unfortunately, harp seals are widely hunted for their fur, and hunters also flock to these breeding grounds in gild to hunt. Other than during the mating season, harp seals spend very little time on land, preferring to swim in the Northward Atlantic and chill oceans.
Bearded seal

These whiskered seals are the largest species of seal to live in the Arctic - males can weigh upward to 450 kilograms (992 pounds), while females are even larger! While they tend to be lonely animals, travellers will detect them giving nativity to their pups on ice floes on the Chill Ocean in Apr or May.
Ringed seal

The most common and about widely-distributed seal in the Chill, travellers volition notice ringed seals everywhere throughout the Northern Hemisphere's arctic oceans. The just time these solitary animals come together is to breed, when they gather on sea ice and get extremely territorial about their spots.

Narhwal

These mysterious and strange creatures live only in the coldest waters, extremely up north where the arctic ice meets the ocean. Often called "the unicorn of the body of water," you'll have the all-time chance of seeing narwhals in the summertime, in northern Canada and Thule, in Greenland's north. Still, they're also found yr-round in the freezing waters of Svalbard and Russia.

Beluga whale

One of the smallest species of whale, belugas are known as "body of water canaries" for the manner they communicate with each other through singled-out clicks, chirps, and whistles. Extremely social animals, beluga whales are constitute in large groups in the Arctic waters twelvemonth-circular. However, the all-time place to come across these animals is the north and east of Canada, mainly in Churchill, Manitoba and Tadoussac, Quebec.
Bowhead whale

The second largest whale in the world (second just to the blueish whale, of course!) bowhead whales are believed to exist the longest-living animals on earth, with a lifespan of up to 200 years! Bowhead whales spend their unabridged life in Arctic and sub-Arctic waters, especially in the seas near Alaska.
Humpback whale

While humpback whales don't live in the Chill year-long, they'll spend the summer months in the Chill Body of water. Notice these magnificent animals in the seas surrounding Iceland, Canada, and many other destinations - humpback whales, after all, migrate upward to 8,000 kilometres (iv,970 miles) every year!

Arctic animals facts

How do animals survive in the Chill?

Arctic animals utilise many dissimilar strategies to survive the common cold! Arctic hares, for example, huddle together in big groups to preserve trunk heat. Others, such equally muskox, accept thick hair which surrounds and protects their body. Polar bears, known for their slap-up adjustability to freezing climates, combine thick fur with a layer of blubber and an oily coating which keeps moisture out and oestrus in.
What exercise Arctic animals consume?

Many arctic herbivores take adjusted to exist able to eat lichen, a moss which grows on plants in the tundra. Carnivores, nonetheless, have a much wider diet, ranging from rodents such as lemmings, birds, and fifty-fifty caribou. When food sources are more than scarce, cannibal animals will also eat berries and eggs.
How many animate being species live in the Chill?

Over v,500 species of animals live in the Chill.
Are at that place any endangered species in the Arctic tundra?

Due to hunting, climate alter, and other habitat distruptions, there are several endangered species living in the Arctic Tundra. This includes polar bears, narwhals, and beluga whales.

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