The regions around the poles are tough places to live. In order to survive, animals need to be able to cope with extreme cold and sometimes go for long periods without food. Weather conditions are harsh. In the middle of winter, the sun never rises and it is dark for weeks on end, while in summer the sun is always in the sky, meaning that there are 24 hours of daylight.
Birds
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Many birds migrate to polar regions in spring to lay their eggs. Every year,Arctic terns fly all the way from the Antarctic to the Arctic and then back again. By leaving each pole just before winter, they manage to completely avoid the coldest time of the year.
Polar bears
The polar bear is the world’s largest land carnivore (meat-eater). Adult males can weigh over a tonne. Polar bears live in the Arctic, near the North Pole. Their large, padded feet act as paddles when swimming in water. Life in the water Many polar animals live in the sea. Seals hunt fish under the ice. Other mammals in the polar seas include killer whales, which live both in the Arctic and Antarctic. Belugas and narwhals are small whales that live only in the Arctic waters.
Hunting
Polar bears hunt on the open ice and find most of their prey by smell. They sometimes feed on walruses, but mainly on seals, chasing them when they are, out of the water, or lying in wait beside holes in the ice.
Penguins
Penguins are flightless birds that live in the Antarctic. They are totally adapted to life in the sea. Their stiff wings act as paddles for their streamlined bodies.
Winter wonder
Emperor penguins are the largest kind of penguin. The males incubate (keep warm) the females’ eggs by holding them on their feet through the winter.
Seal hunting
Some types of seal are born with beautiful white coats to hide them in the snow. Unfortunately, some people like to wear clothes made from their fur, and many seal pups are killed for this reason. People try to protect the baby seals by spraying them with harmless dye, making their coats useless to the humans who hunt them.
Questions and Answers about Polar Animals
- Can Penguin fly?
Answer: No
- Which Animal lives in polar region?
Answer: Polar Bears
- Can Polar bears Swim?
Answer: Yes
- Do Polar Bears ever lie in wait for their prey?
Answer: Yes
- Polar Bears eat Seals? True or False?
Answer: True
- Polar Bears can weigh over a tonne? True or False?
Answer: True
- Killer whales live in polar waters. True or false?
Answer: True
- Why do some types of baby seal have white coats?
Answer: To hide them in the snow
- Do polar bears live near to the North Pole or the South Pole?
Answer: The North Pole
- Penguins live in the Antarctic. True or false? Answer: True
- ALE BUG can be rearranged to give the name of which whale that lives in Arctic waters? Answer: Beluga
- Which sense do polar bears use to find most of their prey: sight, hearing or smell? Answer: Smell
- How do penguins paddle themselves through the water with their wings or with their feet? Answer: With their wings
- What is the world’s largest kind of penguin?
Answer: The emperor penguin
- Which bird flies all the way from the Antarctic to the Arctic and back again every year?
Answer: The Arctic tern
- How can people protect baby seals from humans hunting them for their fur?
Answer: By spraying them with harmless dye
- Do narwhals live near to the North Pole or the South Pole?
Answer: Near to the North Pole
- What word is used for keeping an egg warm until it hatches?
Answer: Incubating
- In which season do migrating birds arrive in the polar regions?
Answer: Spring