The zone of Arctic deserts is located in the very north of the continents of Eurasia and North America. The climate and living conditions are very harsh, there is no change of seasons as such. There is a polar night, during which the temperature is kept within 30-40 degrees of frost. Throughout the day in this region, the air warms up to -10, sometimes to -3 degrees. That is why the animal zones of the Arctic deserts are fundamentally different from those that live in our continental latitudes. They are more adapted to survive in harsh conditions. Well, about what they are, what are characteristic and how popularized, read below.
Feathered Arctic Residents
For the most part, the fauna of the Arctic deserts is presented in the form of birds. The feathered fauna here is represented by 124 different species of the inhabitants of the sky, 55 of which consider the Arctic as their native home and nest there. Among such sedentary northern birds, one can distinguish a pink gull, Siberian eider, guillemot. By the way, representatives of the latter species prefer to nest at the heights of various rocks that are covered with glaciers. However, they do not feel discomfort. Also, the bird fauna of the Arctic deserts is represented in the form of burgomaster, white gulls, polar terns, carcasses, luriks, etc. The queen among the permanent inhabitants of the northern heavens is the polar owl.
Volatile Arctic Skies
When the day comes on the very north of our planet and the air temperature rises, birds come from the tundra, taiga and continental latitudes. Therefore, from the beginning of the first warm days on the shores of the Arctic Ocean, one can meet black geese, white geese, ties, tules, brown-winged plover, white-tailed sandboxes. The flocks of the following birds fly here with them: sandpiper, red-necked snout, silver-necked snake, bantry buzzard and many others. With the onset of cold weather, all of the above flocks return to more southern latitudes. But this does not mean at all that the fauna of the Arctic deserts is becoming more scarce. Birds fly over this region all the time, and, perhaps, thanks to birds, these lands still give at least the slightest signs of life.
General description of mammals
The animals of the Arctic desert zones that live on the earth or lead a semi-aquatic lifestyle are just 16 species. 4 of them are representatives of marine fauna, but they are not fish, but still mammals. Most of them are listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation. For this reason, hunting in the Arctic deserts is strictly prohibited, and each individual who is a representative of the fauna is carefully protected by the government. So, now we will get acquainted closer to each inhabitant of these latitudes and find out what characteristics they possess.
Inhabitants of the ice depths
To begin with, we will consider what animals of the Arctic deserts living in cold waters have. Photos of many of them we often met on the pages of Soviet textbooks or simply saw them on TV. The most interesting resident of the region is the narwhal. A huge fish that reaches a length of 5 meters and weighs more than one and a half tons. A characteristic feature is a long horn that sticks out of the mouth. This is like an animal’s tooth, but it does not perform its characteristic functions. Narwhals are the only animals of their kind and have no analogues. The closest relative of this species is the bowhead whale. He is much more massive than a narwhal, but does not have such a huge tooth. It feeds on plankton and swims far enough into the sea. The next marine mammal of the northern regions is the beluga or polar dolphin. It lives at great depths of the ocean and eats exclusively fish. Completes our list of the most dangerous northern underwater predator - killer whale. In addition to devouring the smaller inhabitants of northern waters and their shores, it is also dangerous for belugas and seals.
Seals and walruses
The most popular animals in the Arctic desert zone are seals. They represent a separate population, but have many subspecies. A characteristic feature of all seals are flippers, which replace divergent hind limbs. They end with claws that allow mammals to easily move around in snowy terrain. Among the most striking species of seals, one can distinguish the Greenland, sea hare (the largest and most dangerous of all species), common seal and sea seal. The latter species is characterized by the smallest size, and at the same time, all its representatives are very mobile. But the closest seal's relative is the walrus, which is also its danger. Walruses are much larger in size, have sharp fangs, with which they cut ice and get their own food from the sea. They also need this tool for ground hunting. They eat small animals, including seals.
Bears and Wolves
The brightest animals in the Arctic desert zone are polar bears. They have an exclusively white color and dense coat, which allows them to survive the terrible cold both on land and under water, which is just ice. In addition to the fact that the bear is the king of the Arctic, he is also the most dangerous predator. It eats terrestrial animals and mammals, which are smaller in size. It is also dangerous for fish and animals that live in the sea. Not so dangerous, but no less ferocious in the North are the polar wolves. They are very beautiful, have a white or brown color and live in packs of up to 9 individuals. Their prey is arctic fox, deer, sometimes small seals, as well as all other land animals, which are smaller than them in size.
Red Book of the Russian Federation
The animals of the Arctic desert zones listed in the Red Book are almost all of the species that were named above. But in order to have a more specific concept about which inhabitants of the northern latitudes it is necessary to protect with special attention, we will list them again. The Red Book contains a polar bear, polar wolf, walrus, seal, Arctic fox. Of the mammals that live in the aquatic environment, narwhals, killer whales, and for some time also beluga, fall into the Red Book. In addition, many species of birds are listed on the pages of this book. These are pink and white gulls, peregrine falcons, Cranophobia goose, small swan and others.
Afterword
Almost all animals of the Arctic deserts were listed above. In Russia, all these species have been living since the formation of the climate on the planet, and the picture is similar in the northern regions of Alaska, as well as in Greenland. The fauna of this snowy world is very unique, not like the other, and most importantly - it is dying out. Therefore, the governments of all countries to which these animals are related carefully protects them. They can not be hunted, exterminated and infringed in every way.