Isabel: Existing Forms Of Life

Arctic Animals

The most extreme Arctic land (the closest to the North Pole) is called the High Arctic Zone; this polar desert supports very little animal or plant life (less than 5 percent of the land area is covered with vegetation) due to a very short, dry growing season, dry air, permafrost, poor soils, and a lack of pollinating insects. The warmer Arctic region is called the Low Arctic Zone. This area supports more life, with more than 90 percent of the land area covered with hardy, cold-and-dry-adapted vegetation.

Animals:

Beluga Whale

1. Mammals

Walrus
Arctic Fox
Arctic Hare
Arctic Wolf
Beluga Whale

Wolverine
Moose
Polar Bear

Arctic Hares
Killer Whale

Moose

Musk Ox
Polar Bear

Reindeer

2. Birds

Arctic Tern

Snowy Owl
Snowy Goose
Puffin
Arctic Tern

Antarctic animals

Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, and driest place on Earth. The coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth was in Antarctica; it went down to approximately -129°F (-89°C)! The Antarctic land does not support many life forms. Most of the land of Antarctica is a frozen desert, with less precipitation than the Sahara Desert (under 2 inches = 5 cm a year). Oddly enough, 70% of the world's fresh water is frozen in the region of the South Pole.

Animals: