If you think it’s cold where you live, try visiting the Arctic, where temperatures can get down to -75º F! The animals that live there need some special tools to beat the frostbite. Here’s how 10 of the most iconic, adorable, and amazing Arctic animals conquer the cold!
Polar bears are actually black
These Arctic bears may look white, but their skin is black! Their dark-colored skin allows for maximum heat absorption, while their thick, hollow hairs trap air to insulate their bodies. It does such a good job that hardly any body heat can escape. If you looked at a polar bear through an infrared device, you wouldn’t see the bear at all! Their fur keeps them warmer when it’s wet, so they enjoy rolling around in snow. Aww!
And the gold medal goes to … snowshoe hares!
These incredibly fast bunnies can run up to 50 miles per hour! Their sprints keep them safe from predators and circulate blood around their bodies, keeping them warm. Their surprisingly large feet are like snowshoes, distributing their weight evenly over the snow so they don’t sink down into it. Even more amazingly, snowshoe hares can change colors! In summer, they have a grayish brown coat that blends in with dirt and grass. But when winter comes, their fur turns white to blend in with the snow!
Musk oxen’s fur is twice as nice
These huge oxen have two layers of thick fur! They’re probably very soft, but I wouldn’t suggest getting near them during mating season. When the males begin to fight each other over the ladies, the entire herd can get involved in the drama and start butting heads! When they’re not trying to poke each other with their curved horns, these fluffy oxen spend their days nibbling on grass, roots, and moss. During winter, when snow covers the ground, they use their shovel-like hooves to dig down and find a snack!
Rock ptarmigans, the ultimate cleanup crew
These pheasants’ cousins have an unusual nesting preference - they like to live as far north as possible! They’ve transferred the classic color-changing technique from fur to feathers, dropping their mottled brown summer plumage when winter comes in favor of an all-white look. Camouflaged by their snow-colored feathers, rock ptarmigans wander around in the open, pecking the ground for seeds and vegetation. Smart rock ptarmigans follow grazing musk oxen and nibble on the sprouts and seeds they leave behind!
Snowy owls can hunt 24/7
Most owls can only hunt at night, but snowy owls have special eyesight that enables them to hunt both when it’s dark and when it’s light. That may not seem like a great cold-weather adaption, but it’s actually essential! In the Arctic (near the North Pole) and the Antarctic (near the South Pole), the sunlight cycle is a little strange. During the winter months, the sun never appears and it’s dark all day and night - perfect conditions for any owl to hunt. But for the other six months of the year, the sun shines 24 hours a day! So it’s a good thing snowy owls can hunt in daylight - otherwise, they wouldn’t survive the summer. Whooo has the most amazing ability now?
Lemmings build bomb shelters
Possibly the cutest animal on this list, these adorable rodents only grow to be 5 - 7 inches long. But they pack quite the construction punch! Underneath snow-covered plains and meadows, lemmings spend all year burrowing complex tunnel systems with areas for sleeping and stashing food. After gathering plenty of grasses and moss during the growing season, lemmings hunker down in their burrows during winter and snack on their food stash! Who needs hibernating when you can have your own underground hotel?
Wood frogs freeze in winter
Most animals’ hibernations are like a long sleep - their heart rates, metabolisms, and breathing simply slow down. But wood frogs, the only amphibians found in the Arctic, almost completely freeze! The frogs literally stop breathing and their hearts stop beating. The only thing keeping them alive is an anti-freeze substance in their cells! The frogs stay in this near-death state for months until it’s warm enough for their hearts to start beating again. Then they go about their froggy business like nothing ever happened!
Moose should be scuba divers
To help them navigate the Arctic tundra, moose have two toes per foot that spread out to create better traction and balance. But if walking across the treacherous snow is too difficult, moose can simply swim! By closing special flaps on their nostrils, moose keep their noses watertight while diving underwater in search of aquatic plants to eat. They have built-in life jackets, too - their coats trap air and allow them to float!
Narwhals have a giant tooth that can…?
Sometimes called the unicorns of the sea, narwhals have a magical adaptation: a giant horn spiraling out of their foreheads (that’s actually an overgrown tooth)! All males and about 15% of females sport these tusks, but no one is sure what they’re used for. And about 1 in every 2,000 narwhals has two tusks! The tusks are hard on the inside, but they have a soft outer layer filled with nerve cells. Some scientists think these nerves help narwhals monitor ocean conditions or track nearby narwhals. Males often touch their tusks together, which could be a way to communicate. Narwhals still have a lot of secrets!
Through snow-covered forests, on fragile icy floes, and in frigid waters, these Arctic animals survive and thrive in some of the coldest environments on Earth. They’re proof that life always finds a way - preferably a warm and cuddly one! Which of these amazing adaptations do you think is the most useful? Click the blue button below to vote! 👓