Because the tundra is so close to the north pole, summer days are 24 hours long! What a place for a summer vacation! In the summer the soil becomes very soggy from melted snow and rain. The moisture sinks into the ground, which is called permafrost. The permafrost lies six inches below the ground, and is frozen for most of the year. The top layer of the permafrost thaws, but the bottom layer of gravel and finer material stays frozen all year which keeps moisture from rain on the surface of the ground.
There is low diversity in organisms that live here, but many still flourish. Many lichens, mosses, and small shrubs flourish in the arctic tundra.
The plants that live in the harsh permafrost soil usually adapt to the weather by being short and grouped together to resist winds and to be protected. The growing season in the tundra is short and lasts up to 60 days. Tundra plants get their energy from the sun through photosynthesis like all other plants, but have adapted to low temperatures and low light intensities. Compared to plants in other biomes they use a minimal amount of energy. There are actually animals that live in this harsh biome!
You might find lemmings, caribou, and arctic hares in the tundra. These animals seem pretty nice, but can you guess which the largest and most dangerous animal is that lives in the tundra? Polar bears love to eat fresh, fatty meat. Fatty foods might not be good for humans, but polar bears need the energy from fat to survive the cold tundra. They will also eat berries and eggs in the summer.
Polar bears hunt by the power of scent and can smell their food at 20 miles 32 km away. Polar Bear Cams. Press Center. Awareness Events. Other Ways to Give. Popular Start a Fundraiser. Sign a Petition.
Polar Bear Week. What do polar bears eat? How the bears hunt seals. For a polar bear, fat is fit. A polar bear can eat 45 kg lbs of seal blubber in a single sitting! Photo: Kt Miller. Spring Feasting Season Spring time is the feasting season for polar bears, the time of year when seal pups are born on the sea ice, making easy prey.
They need a platform of ice. Because polar bears rely on the ice to reach their seal prey. Could polar bears switch to eating other foods? Behavior Learn how polar bears walk, sleep, communicate with each other, and stay clean. Continue Reading. Living with Polar Bears Polar bears play an important role in Indigenous Arctic cultures, and have done so for thousands of years. Previous Behavior Learn how polar bears walk, sleep, communicate with each other, and stay clean.
Feeling inspired? By contrast, hooded seals are the largest found in the Arctic region, measuring between roughly 8 and 10 feet long and weighing in at up to pounds. Spotted, ribbon and harp seals are on the smaller end of the spectrum, with maximum weights of pounds, pounds and pounds, respectively. Bearded seals are larger, with a maximum weight of almost pounds.
Arctic seals are swift and graceful swimmers who do all of their hunting in the ocean, so a variety of marine creatures are on the menu. They tend to have quite a generalized diet, hunting for a range of different fish, crustaceans, squid, mollusks and marine invertebrates, depending on what foods are abundant in their area. Overfishing of certain species, such as cod, has reduced the amount of food available for some Arctic seals.
Several threats exist for Arctic seals. One of the major ones is predation from species such as polar bears, orcas and sharks. Certain seals have their own adaptations to avoid predation, for instance baby harp seals have white coats to blend in with the snow and male hooded seals have inflatable sacs on their heads they can use to startle potential predators.
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