This article has been submitted by Dipanshu from Delhi
The polar regions of Earth, also known as Earth’s frigid zones, are the regions of Earth surrounding its geographical poles (the North and South Poles). These regions are dominated by Earth’s polar ice caps, the northern resting on the Arctic Ocean and the southern on the continent of Antarctica.
The climate in the Polar Regions is very cold and the animals and birds living in the Polar Regions have now adapted themselves according to the climate.
Some of the animals living in the Polar Regions are mentioned below :
1. Polar bear.
2. Walrus.
3. Narwhal.
4. Arctic fox.
5. Beluga whale.
6. Canadian lynx.
7. Muskox.
8. Arctic tern.
9. Snowy owl.
10. Arctic hare.
Let us take an example of polar bear for adaptation in Polar Regions of animals:
A polar bear’s life cycle is closely tied to sea ice. They rely on the ice to travel, hunt seals, breed, and in some cases, den.
Scientists believe polar bears are unlikely to survive if ice-free periods exceed their fasting ability (220 days), especially in areas that lack alternate marine mammal prey.
Polar bears are strong swimmers and divers, a characteristic that allows them to swim from one ice floe to the next. They also swim underneath thin ice and, as Norwegian researchers recently observed, dive for kelp near shore.
Climate of Polar Regions is characterised by cold winters and cool summers. Plants such as dwarf shrubs, graminoids, herbs, lichens and mosses which all grow relatively close to the ground, forming tundra. There are over 40 different ethnics groups living in the Polar Region such as arctic hare, lemming, muskox, arctic ground squirrels, killer whales, belugas etc.
