Polar regions are found at the planet’s northern and southern extremes, they are the icy wastes of the continental ice caps and the frozen pack ice of the ocean. The only ‘plants’ here are specialised forms of cold-loving algae that grow on the surface of snow. Only animals that don’t rely on vegetation – such as penguins, seals and polar bears – are able to live here.
Fast Facts about Polar Regions
1. Animals that inhabit polar regions have to be well adapted to living in the cold, and often have a thick layer of fat or blubber to help to keep them warm.
2. There are two main polar regions in the world, which are the Arctic and the Antarctic. The Arctic Circle and Arctic Tundra are found at the North Pole, and it covers nearly 5 million square miles of the top of the Northern Hemisphere. The Antarctic is the found at the South Pole, and although the animals are very different here, the polar regions are fairly similar places to live.
3. The warmer spring and summer months in the Arctic Circle encourages the growth of plants and grasses, which draws herbivorous grazing animals further north. Lemmings and Arctic hares can also be found in the tundra, often closely followed by foxes or large Arctic owls.
4. Wolves are the top predators of the Arctic tundra, and polar bears dominate the frozen waters deeper in. Seals, killer whales, whales, sea lions, lions, walruses and narwhals can all be commonly spotted feeding on the fish in the Arctic Circle.
5. Polar climate characterized by persistent cold and relatively narrow annual temperature ranges; winters characterized by continuous darkness, cold and stable weather conditions, and clear skies; summers characterized by continuous daylight, damp and foggy weather, and weak cyclones with rain or snow.
6. Despite extreme temperatures, the harsh Arctic environment is home to a sparse, but varied human population.
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7. There has never been an indigenous population in Antarctica. Scientists, researchers, geologists and explorers are the only people there at any given time; even though Antarctica is larger than the US, it is populated by only 9,000 people during summer and 5,000 in winter.
8. The animals in Antarctica live on a very carnivorous diet. There are no plants growing on the frozen Antarctic surface so animals must eat other animals in order to survive. Numerous species of fish, crustacean and mollusc inhabit the waters beneath the ice which means that there is plenty of food for carnivorous birds and mammals to eat. Penguins are the most common animal found in Antarctica as there are many species spread across the continent and even further north, that hunt the fishes. Larger predators such as leopard seals and killer whales whales inhabit the water around the frozen islands and huge whales flock to the Antarctic in order to eat the food in the nutrient-rich waters.
9. As there is very little rain in Antarctica, the continent’s interior is technically the largest desert in the world. In particular, the Antarctic dry valleys, found in Victoria Land, are among the driest places on Earth. Scientists believe no rain has fallen for two million years.
10. Climate change and global warming have had the biggest impact on the polar regions, as the increasing temperature causes more and more ice to melt.