Tundra Animals

What Is the Tundra Biome?

When we say tundra animals, the first few names to come to mind are likely the Arctic fox, polar bear, caribou, Arctic hare, lemmings, and more. While those are undoubtedly the most popular animals in the tundra biome, other species have also adapted to the extreme conditions prevailing here.

The tundra biome is typically characterized by freezing temperatures, low biotic diversity, lack of vegetation, and the presence of permafrost. It covers approximately a tenth of the total surface area of the Earth. It is divided into three types: the Arctic tundra, Antarctic tundra, and the Alpine tundra. Owing to its harsh climate, it is virtually impossible for humans to inhabit this biome. For animals, however, survival seems like an easier task, they are equipped with useful physical and behavioral adaptations.

Animals in the Tundra Biome

Arctic Tundra

Of the three divisions of tundra, the Arctic tundra happens to be the most biodiverse. It is home to several species of lemmings, foxes, geese, and swans, as well as subspecies of the gray wolf, brown bear, and caribou.

Arctic Tern

One of the most amazing species of bird found in the Arctic tundra is the Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea). At 44,300 mi, it has the longest migration of any animal species. What makes the Arctic tern all the more interesting is that it is a true tundra species, spending part of the year in the Arctic tundra and part in the Antarctic tundra.

The Arctic tundra is also home to the Arctic wolf, snowy owl, stoat, Arctic fox, gyrfalcon, caribou, Arctic hare, tundra swans, and walrus, among others.

Meet the Arctic Animals Up Close

Most people know about polar bears and reindeer, but many other fascinating creatures call this frozen world home. Here are four of the Arctic tundra's most remarkable residents, with a closer look at how big they get, what they eat, and how they cope with the cold.

Arctic Fox

The Arctic fox lives in burrows and is commonly found in Alaska and northern Canada. It is a small animal, its body length ranges from 10 to 12 inches, and it weighs around 6 to 12 lbs. It digs its burrows in ground that stays free of frost, and when the weather turns bitterly cold, it wraps its long, bushy tail around its body like a scarf to stay warm.

This clever animal is a scavenger, so finding food is rarely a problem. It will even follow polar bears and eat the scraps they leave behind. The Arctic fox is an omnivore, it eats birds, seaweeds, eggs, fish, berries, small mammals, insects, and more. Its lifespan is around 15 years.

Caribou

The caribou is also known as the reindeer. It belongs to the deer family, and both males and females grow antlers, which is unusual among deer species. A caribou's brown coat turns lighter in summer and darker again in winter, and the animal has short, sturdy legs built for crossing marshes and snow-covered ground.

Male caribou are much larger than females. Males weigh between 350 and 400 lbs, while females weigh between 175 and 225 lbs. The height of the caribou at the withers ranges from 35 to 55 inches. One easy way to spot a caribou is the fluffy ruff of fur around its neck.

Musk Ox

The musk ox is one of the toughest animals on Earth, living year-round in the extreme north where conditions would be fatal to most other large mammals. You can find musk oxen in Sweden, Norway, Siberia, Greenland, Canada, Ellesmere Island, and Alaska.

Its most remarkable feature is its coat. The outer hair grows up to 24 inches long, forming a thick curtain that shields the animal from wind and cold. The musk ox is a big, powerful animal: its body can reach up to 7 feet in length, and its weight ranges from 396 to 880 lbs. It is a herbivore that grazes on willow, bearberry, crowberry, and other low-growing tundra plants. Musk oxen live in herds, and each herd is led by a dominant male called a bull.

Polar Bear

The polar bear is the largest carnivore on Earth, and it has two layers of protection against the extreme Arctic cold. The body length of polar bears ranges from 8 to 11 feet, and their height at the shoulders is a little over 5 feet. Male polar bears weigh around 880 to 990 lbs, while females weigh between 660 and 770 lbs. Their main prey is ringed seals, but they also feed on lemmings, ducks, Arctic foxes, and the carcasses of walrus.

Polar bears were once in serious trouble. Massive hunting had reduced their population to just 5,000 animals. Thanks to hunting bans and conservation projects, their numbers have gradually risen to about 40,000, though they remain a vulnerable species today.

More Arctic Animals

The full list of Arctic tundra animals is long. You might also meet the ermine, snowy owl, harlequin duck, grizzly bear, lemmings, Arctic hare, wolverine, Arctic ground squirrels, and rock ptarmigan, and many more species besides:

Antarctic Tundra

When we think of penguins, we picture the South Pole with flightless birds gathered on a vast field of ice. The fact, however, is that penguins are not restricted to Antarctica, or even to the Southern Hemisphere. The Galápagos penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus) is found just to the north of the Equator. Nevertheless, of the eighteen species of penguins identified by BirdLife International, only six are found in Antarctica. In the coastal areas of the southernmost continent, these flightless birds share the ice with six species of seals, or pinnipeds.

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More Antarctic Animals

Alpine Tundra

The Alpine tundra biome is found in the mountainous regions of the world, at an altitude of 11,000 ft and above. In these parts of the world, food scarcity pushes animals to migrate downhill in search of food, so very few species are found here all year round. Those species that do stay throughout the year hibernate for a considerable part of it. Some animals, like the Alpine pika, take a different approach, instead of hibernating, they collect food and store it in rock crevices where they shelter during winter.

More Alpine Animals

Species That Cross All Three Zones

Some species are not restricted to the Arctic, Antarctic, or Alpine tundra alone. Marine species like the killer whale (Orcinus orca) and blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus), for example, are found in both Arctic and Antarctic waters, these frigid seas happen to be the breeding grounds for both species. The wolverine (Gulo gulo) is another example: it lives in both the Arctic tundra and the Alpine tundra. And as mentioned above, even the Arctic tern spends part of the year in Antarctica.

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Animal Adaptations in the Tundra Biome

Scarcity of food and a harsh climate may make survival in the tundra biome seem impossible, but the animals here manage this seemingly impossible task with ease. The credit goes to their superb adaptation skills.

Some of the most prominent physical adaptations include thick fur and rich fat deposits to survive the freezing cold, small ears to minimize heat loss, compact bodies to reduce exposure to frigid air, and broad feet that make walking on snow easier. Beyond physical traits, behavioral adaptations also play a key role. Several animals resort to hibernation during winter, when food is hardest to find. Others migrate to warmer areas and return only in summer.

The caribou is a perfect example. It has large, spreading hooves that act like snowshoes, helping it keep its balance as it crosses marshlands and snow-covered ground. Some tundra animals can also lower their body's metabolic rate during the worst weather, a kind of semi-hibernation that saves precious energy.

The polar bear's thick blubber layer, about 4.5 inches deep, protects it from cold that can drop as low as −34 °F. On top of that, the hollow hair shafts of its fur provide excellent insulation, trapping warm air close to the body.

While the list of tundra biome animals may not be as long as that of the rainforest or grassland, the biome has some of the best examples of symbiotic relationships on the planet. One of the finest is that commensal relationship between the Arctic fox and caribou, the caribou digs the ground to feed on lichen, and in doing so brings insects and small mammals to the surface for the Arctic fox to feed on.

While there is very little direct interference by humans in the tundra biome, animals here do get affected by several environmental issues that trace back to human activities. The global warming-induced melting of polar ice, for instance, has resulted in habitat destruction for some species of the Arctic tundra, pushing them further north. Though none of the species face an imminent threat of extinction, it may not be long before they become vulnerable and feature on the Red List of threatened animals compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). That is why protecting the fragile ecosystem of the tundra biome matters so much, for the animals, and for our world as a whole.