zone arctic desert is located in the far north of Eurasia and North America.The climate and conditions of life here is very severe, the change of seasons as such does not exist.There are polar night, during which the temperature is kept between 30-40 degrees Celsius.During the day, in this region the air is heated to -10, sometimes up to -3 degrees.That is why the zone arctic desert animals are fundamentally different from those who live in our continental latitudes.They are better able to survive in harsh conditions.Well, what they are, what and how much popularized characteristic, see below.
feathered residents of the Arctic
The majority of wildlife arctic desert is presented in the form of birds.Feathered fauna here shows 124 different kinds of inhabitants of heaven, 55 of whom believe the Arctic their native home and nest there.Among these sedentary northern birds can distinguish Gulls, Siberian eider, guillemot.By the way, the representatives of the latter species prefer to nest on the heights of the different rocks that are covered with glaciers.However, they do not experience discomfort.Also avifauna arctic desert represented as mayors, ivory gulls, Arctic Tern, chistinok, little auks and others. Queen among permanent residents of the northern skies is a snowy owl.
Irregular residents Arctic skies
When in the far north of our planet, the day and the air temperature rises, here the birds of the tundra, taiga and continental latitudes.Because from the beginning of the first warm days on the shores of the Arctic Ocean can be seen black geese, snow geese, galstunchikov, Tulesov, Pacific Golden plovers, sandpipers white-tailed.They arrive here next flock of birds: Little Stint, Curlew, Dunlin, rough-legged buzzard and many others.With the onset of cold weather all the above pack returning to more southerly latitudes.But this does not mean that the wildlife of the Arctic desert becomes more scarce.Birds fly over the region all the time, and perhaps precisely because of these feathered land serves as yet the slightest signs of life.
General description mammals
zone arctic desert Animals that live on the ground or are semi-aquatic way of life - it's just 16 species.4 of them are representatives of marine fauna, but they are not fish, but still mammals.More than half of them listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation.For this reason, hunting in the arctic desert is strictly prohibited, and every individual who is a representative of the fauna are carefully protected by government.So now we take a look closer to each inhabitant of these latitudes, and find out what characteristics they possess.
inhabitants of the icy depths
First, consider what we have living in the cold waters of the Arctic desert animals.Photos of many of them, we often met in the pages of Soviet textbooks or just saw them on TV.The most interesting inhabitant of the region - the narwhal.The huge fish, which reaches a length of 5 meters and weighs more than a ton.A characteristic feature is a long horn that sticks out of his mouth.It's like the tooth of an animal, but its inherent functions, it does not perform.Narwhals are the only animals of a kind and have no analogues.The closest relative of this species is a bowhead whale.It is much more massive than the narwhal, but does not have such a huge tooth.It feeds on plankton and swims quite far out to sea.Next marine mammal northern edges - a beluga or a polar dolphin.It lives at great depths of the ocean and feeds exclusively on fish.Rounding out our list of the most dangerous predator of northern underwater - killer.Apart from the fact that it devours the smaller inhabitants of northern waters and shores, it is also dangerous for the belugas and ringed seals.
Seals and walruses
most popular animals arctic desert zone - it seals.They are a separate population, but have a number of subspecies.A characteristic feature of all the seals are fins that replace divergent hindquarters.They end with claws that allow mammals to easily move through the snow-covered terrain.Among the most striking species of seals can be distinguished harp, bearded (the largest and most dangerous of all types), the common seal and sea seals.The latter type is characterized by the smallest size, and with it all its representatives are very mobile.But the closest relative of the seal - walrus in combination is unsafe.Walruses much larger in size, have sharp teeth, they penetrate the ice and get their food from the sea.Also, the tool they need to land hunting.They eat small animals, including seals.
Bears and wolves
most striking animals arctic desert zone - a polar bear.They have a very white color and dense wool, which allows them to survive the bitter cold, both on land and under water, which is just ice.Apart from the fact that the bear is the king of the Arctic, it is here also the most dangerous predator.Eating land animals and mammals that its smaller size.Also, it is dangerous to fish and the animals that live in the sea.Not as dangerous but no less fierce in the North are polar wolves.They are very beautiful, have a white or brown color and live in flocks of up to 9 individuals.They are prey to foxes, deer, sometimes small seals, as well as all other land animals that are less than their size.
Red Book of the Russian Federation
Animals arctic desert zones, listed in the Red Book - it is almost all the species that have been named above.But in order to have a more concrete concept of what exactly inhabitants of northern latitudes must be protected with special attention, once again we will list them.The red book is a polar bear, polar wolf, walrus, seal, arctic fox.Among the mammals that live in water, in the Red Book come narwhals, whales, for some time now and beluga.In addition, the pages of this book are listed many species of birds.It is pink and the white gull, peregrine falcon, kranozobaya Goose, Bewick's swan and others.
Afterword
listed above almost all animals arctic desert.In Russia, all of these species live since the formation of the planet's climate, and similarly, the picture is in the northern regions of Alaska and Greenland.The fauna of the snow world is very unique, not like the other, and most importantly - it dies.Because the governments of all the countries to which these little animals are related, carefully guarding them.They can not hunt, destroy and otherwise infringe.
