Wildlife And Birds Which Live In the Snow

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The Planet Earth consists of different regions which vary in temperature, climate, vegetation, topography and many other aspects which are considered very important to the survival of different species of wildlife and birds which live in different parts of the earth including the snowy regions around the world. Each place in the planet is useful to different species and this is what makes our planet a very unique place to live in.  Here we take a look and try and understand the wildlife and birds which make the snowy mountains and other snowy regions of the earth their home.

 

The Arctic region is a very windy, cold and quite often a snowy biome. It is located around the North Pole of the Planet Earth. When one refers to the Arctic region one usually means the part of the earth which is within the Arctic Circle which is an imaginary circle around the Earth which runs parallel to the Equator and is located twenty three degrees and twenty eight minutes from the North Pole region, that is above around seventy five degrees North Latitude.

 

Although there is major no land area at the North Pole, the icy region of the Arctic Ocean is teaming with life ranging from the microscopic organisms like zooplankton to the huge ones like the whales. There is a lot of land area within the Arctic Circle from the northern parts of Asian continent, European continent and the North American continent. The land area within the Arctic circle is the Tundra and it supports less amount of life than most other biomass because of the cold temperatures, the strong dry winds which keep blowing and the Permafrost that is the Permanently Frozen Soil. Long periods of darkness in the months of winters and very light sun in the months of the summer also affect the Arctic Life in the region.

 

The most extreme Arctic land which is the closest to the North Pole is called the High Arctic Zone. There is very little life here and this Polar Desert has very few number of animals, birds or plant life. Less than five percent of the total land area is covered with vegetation. This is due to a very short  and dry growing season, dry air, poor soils, permafrost and over and above all this a lack of pollinating insects. The area which is warmer is know as the Low Arctic Zone and this area tends to support more life, with more than ninety percent of the land area which is covered with hard, cold and dry adapted vegetation.

 

The following are some of the wildlife and birds which are found in this special region. They seem to have adapted well to the conditions there eventhough it is very harsh.

Walrus – These are the marine animals which live on the eyes. The have two big protruding teeth and they dive into the ocean waters in search of clams.

Seals – They live on and near to the ice in the Arctic, These feed on arctic food mostly fish, Arctic cod and the herring. They are hunted by polar bears, dolphins and sharks.

Penguins – They are found only down neat to the South Pole region. Out of the many species of penguins, the Emperor penguins lives on the Antarctic mainland. The adults among these Emperor penguins are typically around 1.2 meters tall and the  Juveniles are slightly shorter in height are about ninety centimeters to around one meter in height. All the year long they live near near the snow and ice in an area close to the sea to protect themselves in the event of problems from predators on land. There colonies are a  huge area and there are hundreds of birds living and roosting there.

Polar Bears – Are large marine mammals which live on the winter pack ice and they mostly hunt for fish and seals which are their primary food source. They also go under hibernation under extreme weather. Hence they have to consume a huge amount of food before the ice and snow season sets in. They generally give birth to two or three young ones and mothers do take care of the young ones till they are able to live by themselves independently and they are taught how to survive by their mothers. Their skin hair is also white and acts as a camouflage in the snow and provides protection. They also have good fur to keep them warm too.

Arctic Fox – The arctic fox lives the farthest to the north than any other species of fox. They too are white haired and this happens during the winter months and they adapt to the snowy conditions and this white camouflage helps them well even though the weather is cold and harsh in the region.  These arctic foxes too have good fur coat on their body to keep them warm in bad weather.

Beluga Whales – These whales are white in color and live in the pack ice and shallow areas like bays and estuaries in the summer. The feed on fish and forage for crustaceans basically shrimps, crabs and the like in the seabed floor. They also feed on squids and octopus which are cephalopods. They hunt in packs and are quite intelligent and communicate with voices of different frequencies inside the water.

Gray Wolves – These wolves once used to populate large portions of North America, Asia and the European region. They have been hunted to near extinction now. Man animal conflicts and trade in their skin and of other wildlife and birds are responsible for this situations. They are also treated as pests in many countries which are well developed. There is large scale culling going on. They stay in a group and the group has a head who leads the pack. They are very intelligent and communicative and hunt in packs.

Bison – These are symbolic animals of the Great Plains and are often mistakenly called buffaloes by people. By any measure they are formidable beasts and are one of the heaviest land animals in North America. They have been hunted by natives and the Europeans who set up colonies in the Americas.

Giant Panda – By all means the giant panda is one of the rarest animals in the world. They are found only in the mountains of central China. Pandas live in dense bamboo and coniferous forests at altitudes of 1200 meters to 3500 meters which is around 4000 feet to 11500 feet. Based on the region their color also tends to vary. But what the world knows is the black and white colored panda which is famous. They are generally harmless and tend to keep to themselves. They too are on the verge of extinction and the World Wildlife Fund(WWF) has adopted them they logo as they protect wildlife. They too are used to icy and snowy weather.

Snow Leopard – The snow leopard too is on the verge of extinction there are very few of them available in the wild. They are restricted to areas like India, Bhutan, China, Russia, Nepal, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan etc. They have a furry coat which is white and grey or blackish combination. They are very shy and rarely appear before humans. If one happens to sight one in natural habitat, they should consider themselves lucky.

As there are only a few months of summer which is just warm and has less sunshine. Majority of the animals spend the summer months there when weather is fine and leave as soon as the weather turns frigid, icy and snowy and availability of food is not there only to return back during the next summer and this cycle keeps repeating year after year. The sad part is many of these animals, birds and others are facing a tough time from humans. Humans are the worst enemies of wild life. They are killed for hunting, poaching, gaming, fur of these animals is used by the fashion industry and humans in general all over the world, laboratories ask for them. There habitats are destroyed and there migratory routes and areas have shrunk very fast. Efforts have to be made to save them from extinction.