Fun Trivia » Animals » Animals by Region » Polar Regions

The Arctic hare is highly adapted to living in the Arctic tundra in northern Canada and coastal Greenland. For a hare it has shortened ears and limbs, but it is still one of the largest of the hare and rabbit species. It can be up to 28 inches long and weigh 15 pounds. It can run at 40 miles per hour. It lives underground (unusual for a hare). They are usually found alone but can be seen in groups during winter where they will huddle together for warmth.

Arctic hares are folivores preferring willow twigs and leaves. They will eat lichen and other plants if willow is scare. Conversely, they are hunted by Arctic foxes, red foxes, wolves, mountain lions, lynxes and even ermine. Snowy owl and gyrfalcons are their aerial predators.

Civet de lievre is a French stew made with onions and chives. Hare, rather than rabbit, is used including the blood from the animal.

This question cooked up by 1nn1 who is quite partial to rabbit cooked in the French manner but cannot recall eating hare. Difficulty: Average.

 

Jack rabbit, Arctic fox, Red fox

There are several subspecies of reindeer in the American, Asian and European circumpolar regions, usually named after the region in which they can be found. Even though there are a large number of these animals - the one largest herd in Siberia alone is estimated at at least 400,000 individuals - the species is classified as vulnerable (the least serious of the three "threatened" degrees) due to the human effects on the Arctic habitats. Difficulty: Easy.

 

Arctic stag, Canadian moose, American mountain goat

The narwhal is recognised by its long spiral tusk which projects from its upper jaw for approximately 7-10 feet. People are led to believe it is a tusk but in fact it is a canine tooth. Scientists are baffled but it is believed the tusk, or tooth as it should be known, is used as part of their mating ritual. Narwhals feed on fish, squid, shrimp and can dive in waters up to 1500 metres deep.
Difficulty: Hard.

 

Sperm whale, Spectacled porpoise, Bottlenose whale

A midge is an insect that looks similar to a mosquito, however it lacks the biting mouth parts. Ticks and mites do not fly.

Difficulty: Hard.

 

wingless fly (Anatalanta aptera), Antarctic tick (Ixodes uriae), Antarctic mite (Alaskozetes antarcticus)

The protein in the gonads of jellyfish or squid is thought to provide a good source of carbon and protein for Adélie penguins. They live in colonies on the Antarctic continent, side-by-side with their Emperor penguin cousins. These penguins will eat different foods depending on the season, and whether or not they are gathering food to feed to their young. Krill makes up about forty percent of the bird's diet.

This question was fished out of the sea by Phoenix Rising member VegemiteKid. Difficulty: Easy.

 

Stonefish, Cowfish, Elfish

The snowy owl's white plumage gives it excellent camouflage. The males have almost entirely white feathers, while the females have bars of black or brown. Chicks have more prominent dark feathers, which they lose as they mature, and all of them have piercing yellow eyes. They feed mainly on small rodents but can take larger mammals such as hares and squirrels, and birds, including ducks and gulls. Difficulty: Hard.

July, 22 2003 was the date of the first known fatal attack by a leopard seal on a human. It was on British Scientist Kirsty Brown while snorkeling near Rothera research station.

Leopard seals are second on the food chain of Antarctica. Their only known predator, other than man, is the killer whale. Leopard seals catch penguin by the feet, and skin them alive by shaking and beating them against the ocean surface before eating them.

Difficulty: Hard.

 

blue whale, emperor penguin, polar bear

Antarctic krill are a fairly large species (up to 6cm) that can live up to six years, if they escape being eaten. They live together in schools, known as swarms, reaching densities up to 30,000 krill per cubic meter. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Molluscs, Gastropods, Echinoderms

Also called bristles and whalebone hair, baleen is actually made from the protein keratin and acts as a filter-feeding system inside the whale's mouth. Some baleen whales also have grooves in their throats that can balloon out allowing the whale to take in a larger volume of water. The water is then pushed through the baleen, trapping krill, zooplankton, and small fish which the whale then swallows.

There are several species of baleen whales, including the blue whale, minke, humpback, and grey whales.

This question was sifted out by Leith90. Difficulty: Average.

 

Hair, Fine bone, Cartilage

Arctic hares are well adapted to living in cold climates, with their bodies reflecting the need to conserve warmth. Extremities are shorter than on their temperate brethren, a smaller nose conserves heat in this crucial area of the body and the white, dense fur provides both camouflage in the snow and additional insulation. A long tail would be very counterproductive, both in terms of temperature regulation and escaping predators. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Dense white fur, A smaller nose, Shorter ears and legs

The "boss" resembles a hair parting at the top of the head with horns flowing off at each side. It sits directly above the brain and consists of approximately three inches of bone and four inches of horn. This protects the skull from damage when two bulls are fighting during the mating season. Their fur almost covers them to the ground and is believed to be ten times thicker than sheep wool. The male has a musky aroma during mating season which is not surprising with the all thermal underwear he has to wear! Difficulty: Hard.

 

Core, Tusk, Horn

A Belgica antarctica is approximate 6 mm long. The lack of wings help it to stay firmly anchored to land even during high winds, which are frequent in Antarctica. Other adaptations are that the larvae can survive freezing and can survive without oxygen for two weeks.

Seals and penguins, while they do spend a limited amount of time on land breeding and raising their young, spend the bulk of their time in the ocean. Therefore, they're classified as marine animals like whales.


Difficulty: Hard.

 

southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina), emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri), blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus)

The leopard seal is the most dangerous predator faced by all penguin species. Leopard seals can attack on both land (ice) and sea but are most formidable in the ocean where their agility and speed give them a great advantage. The leopard seal is the second largest species of seal in the Antarctic region. All species of penguins are eaten by them. All of the others can and will eat penguins but do not hunt them like leopard seals do.

This question has the seal of approval from its author Phoenix Rising member tazman6619. Difficulty: Average.

 

Killer whale, Fur seal, Shark

Stoats and weasels have brown fur during the warmer months, but turn white during winter in the colder regions of their habitat. The white fur was especially prized as a luxury trimming for clothing, and the expression 'taking the ermine' is often used to denote someone becoming a Peer of the Realm in the United Kingdom. Difficulty: Average.

This mainly white bird with a black crown and bright orange beak is circumpolar, travelling between both poles to its breeding ground in the Arctic. It has been known to live up to 34 years. Their webbed feet make it easy for diving into cold waters to catch fish or shrimp. Mating with the female involves a "fish fight" whereby the male throws a small fish at the female. If she is interested then she will join in the fish fight. Perhaps if human beings were to take up such rituals, the divorce rate would come down! Difficulty: Hard.

 

Kettle, Tiding, Covey

The Colossal squid is thought to grow to about 12-14 meters. They can dive down to 2200 meters below the surface where it is thought that they feed on Chaetognatha or bioluminescent worms. Sperm whales are known to feed on these and other types of squid. Difficulty: Easy.

 

Enormous squid, Godzilla squid, Huge squid

Beaver dams are most vital to the species in winter, providing them with ice-free water, access to food sources and protection of their lodges from predators. However, the primary work on building and repairing beaver dams is done earlier, in the fall, while the animals mostly rest in the winter, when the water is very cold or even frozen. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Spring, Summer, Winter

The walrus, seal and sea lion are all pinnipeds, a name taken from the Latin word for 'pinna' meaning wing or fin, and 'ped' meaning foot. The seal and sea lion drag themselves around using their front two fins, but the walrus can walk using all four. Their huge tusks are used for fighting and for digging holes when they climb out of the water onto an icy surface. Clams are their favourite food and they feel around for these by using their long whiskers.

Whales, dolphins and porpoises are cetaceans. Polar bears and otter are fissipeds because of the separate digits on their feet. Sirenian is better known as the sea cow such as manatee or dugong. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Cetacean, Fissiped, Sirenian

Emperor penguins choose the worst weather in the world to raise their young. The males incubate a single egg for two months while the females go out to sea. By the time the females return, the males have endured the harsh Antarctic winter without eating for approximately four months relying on stored fat reserves. Difficulty: Easy.

 

Adélie penguins, chinstrap penguins, Humboldt penguins

Even found at the Geographic South Pole the south polar skua is recognised by its large size, distinct barrel chest and white wing flashes. It is similar to the great skua, found in the North Atlantic. The south polar skua grows to 53cm but will challenge much larger birds when seeking to steal their prey. They adopt an aggressive stance and display brute force when harassing other birds, and adults usually only fall prey to raptors and, occasionally, the orca.

This question was enthusiastically scavenged by Phoenix Rising member VegemiteKid. Difficulty: Easy.

 

They don't feed in winter, but hibernate instead, They dig holes in the ice and store food in summer for use in winter, They have parasites that live on their bodies and feed on those

Lemmings are migratory rodents who can swim quite well, thus it is not uncommon for them to jump into bodies of water to traverse them during a mass migration. However, the animals cannot easily determine the size or dangers of the water in front of them, thus it can well happen that a caravan of lemmings attempts to cross the Atlantic or one of the Great Lakes, with predictably fatal results. Difficulty: Hard.

 

The story is true; it's a way of regulating overpopulation, The story is completely fake and derived from a Canadian fairy tale, It happens very rarely, as a result of a viral infection

The female hare can have a litter of between 4 and 8 leverets. Their thick coats are water resistant to stop snow and ice from permeating the layers. They live in a warren of tunnels under the snow that lead to cosy antechambers and it is this that keeps them snug during the harshest of winters. The Arctic hare has the ability to change fur colour depending on the time of year. Their fur is brown and black during the summer months and this changes to a white camouflage coat during the winter. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Kit, Squeaker, Whelp

The birds that migrate to breed during the Antarctic spring are overwhelmingly white, grey, brown and black; they include albatross, gulls, petrels and skuas. Some of them fly a very long distance to reach their breeding grounds, and often return to the same breeding site each year. Many of them spend many months rearing their young and it is common for both male and female to be actively involved in this. Difficulty: Hard.

 

The storm petrel is the smallest Antarctic bird and also has one of the longest migration circuits of any bird in the world., Over 100 million birds come to breed each spring on the Antarctic continent and islands., The wandering albatross, largest of the Antarctic seabirds, has a wingspan of up to three meters.

Emperor penguin eggs hatch while the mother is away feeding. The chicks are first protected by their fathers, who regurgitate a milky substance from one of their glands. When the mother returns with a full stomach, the penguin chicks will receive their first real meal of regurgitated fish. The penguins are too young to fish for themselves, and they will rely on their parents for regurgitated food for the rest of the season. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Their mother regurgitates fish stored in her stomach, They dive for fish themselves, They survive on bugs scattered about the ice

The summer coat is brown but lightens to grey or whitish yellow in the winter months. Compared to other reindeer, the Svalbard has shorter legs and a rounder head. The species has been resident on the Svalbard archipelago for thousands of years. Of the options listed, only Svalbard belongs to Norway, although it is probably better known by its earlier name of Spitsbergen. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Franz Josef, Alexander, Ryukya

These wild deer are called caribou. Their counterparts in Europe are more domesticated and called reindeer. There are several reasons why caribou have antlers, the first of which is that they use them for defence against predators such as wolves. Another reason is they use their antlers for jousting during mating season against other males. Finally, the caribou's sense of smell is acute and they can detect lichen underneath the snow. They use their antlers to shovel snow away to get to the tasty morsels. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Moose, Bison, Elk

Pink guano is an indication of krill-eating such as Adélie and chinstrap penguins. Fish-eating penguins like the emperor penguin produce white guano. Green guano is an indication that the penguin is living off the contents of its stomach such as when it is incubating eggs. Difficulty: Hard.

 

shape of the bill, shape of the flippers, eye color

Krill are classified as zooplankton which means (a) they're animals - that's the zoo part and (b) they float upon the upper levels of the ocean - that's the plankton bit. They look very much like shrimp, are semi-transparent in nature, and they will weigh about a gram when fully grown. Now that you know their weight, consider this: a Blue whale can eat up to 8,000 pounds (3,600 kilograms) of krill per day. This means that the amount of krill that is out there is staggering. So, why are they so plentiful then? Krill are extremely efficient feeders. They have thousands of very fine hairs called setae which capture microscopic feed so effectively. They feed on phytoplankton - the phyto bit indicates that it is a plant - that is microscopic in size but grows so abundantly, particularly in the Antarctic, because of (a) its depth and (b) the areas ability to capture nutrients.

This question was planked on by Phoenix Rising team member pollucci19. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Half an inch long (one point three centimetres), Ten inches long (twenty-five centimetres), So small you need a microscope

Wolverines can be found in Canada, Russia (including Siberia), parts of the USA and the Scandinavian countries of Finland, Sweden and Norway. Their very thick fur gives them good protection from the cold weather, but also made them a target for hunters who could see the benefits of their pelts. The youngsters are normally born, with completely white fur, between January and March. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Pups, Cubs, Whelps

Leopard seals will wait near the edge of the ice for the first penguin to jump in the water. When that happens, they will bite its legs and beat the penguin against the surface of the water until it dies. Jumping on land puts the leopard seal at a disadvantage as the penguin is more mobile on the ice. Few penguins venture too far out into open water, and thus it is a bad place for leopard seals to look for their prey. Difficulty: Average.

 

They wait deep in open water far off the coast, They jump onto land near the coast, The seafloor

You would need a quite substantial number of these small rodents to make a complete parka, but then this kind of clothing is not primarily made of them but rather the traditional material was caribou or seal skin, stuffed with down and insulated with a lining of fur only at the hood and cuffs. Arctic ground squirrels can be found on both sides of the Bering strait, in Alaska, Canada and eastern Siberia. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Vest squirrel, Coat squirrel, Cap squirrel

The name of the bird does not come from the Greek language but from the Scottish Gaelic word meaning croaker. The superfluous initial p was added in the seventeenth century. The rock ptarmigan can be found across most of the Arctic region and as far south as Scotland, the Pyrenees and Bulgaria - birds living in the southern part of their range do not change colour, though. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Pheasant, Partridge, Turkey

The snowy owl has a stunning yellow iris with a black central pupil. His vision is excellent and this helps him locate prey at a long distance but he cannot roll his eyes like a human can. He has tubular eyes and not eye balls so he is unable to rotate his line of sight. Instead he uses his neck to turn his head 270 degrees either side and almost upside down. Because the eyes are so important to their survival, they have three eyelids. The upper closes when the eye blinks and the lower closes when he is asleep. The third eyelid is a thin nictitating membrane which cleanses the eye.
Difficulty: Hard.

 

Green, Brown, Blue

Penguins, while sliding on their bellies, use their feet as oars. They don't slide down hill exclusively. They, also, toboggan across snowfields. Adélie penguins can waddle longer distances at about 1.5 miles per hour. They can easily double that speed by tobogganing. Difficulty: Easy.

 

waddling, flying, sliding on their backs and paddling with their flippers

Orcas hunt in pods and employ some clever hunting methods. One method is known as carousel feeding, and involves surrounding and herding the fish into a ball and slapping them with their tails to stun them long enough to swallow them all whole. They are also known to knock penguins and seals off of the ice and into the water where they are quickly devoured. Difficulty: Easy.

 

Packs, Parties, Flocks

Habitat distribution is the key to answering this question. Leopard seals are found all around the coast of Antarctica and on nearby ice floes as well. They are not found in the Northern Hemisphere so they are not at risk of being taken by a polar bear. Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are the largest member of the dolphin family AND are found in the oceans worldwide including around Antarctica. They don't mind a leopard seal for dinner. Killer whales are apex predators, are 6-8 metres long and weigh over 6 tonnes. Females are slightly smaller.

This question was dreamt up by 1nn1 who was comforted by the thought he was a long way from the nearest orca when he wrote this question. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Yes, they are the largest carnivore in the Antarctic, No, polar bears will attack leopard seal, Only in the Antarctic: In more temperate waters leopard seals are at risk

With the theme of this quiz being warm-hearted animals, only a bird would qualify - any of the others can get quite cold when the outside temperatures fall. Herbivorous birds are rare in cold climates as their high energy needs conflict with the low energy density of plant-based foods. In fact, only the adult ptarmigan is a complete vegetarian; the young of the species supplement their diet with some insects. Difficulty: Easy.

 

An amphibian, A reptile, A fish

Crabeater seals have teeth designed specifically for eating krill. Each tooth has five points. The upper and lower set interlock forming a sort of sieve that retains krill but allow the seawater to escape. They are the most numerous seal species in the world. Difficulty: Hard.

 

phytoplankton, fish, penguins

Sheathbills are not true sea birds. The lack of webbed feet prevents them from swimming and fishing for food. They are scavengers. They have been known to steal food from penguin chicks by pushing them out of the way when the parents are regurgitating food. The food drops to the ground and is quickly scoffed. Difficulty: Hard.

 

they can fly, white plumage, a short thick bill

At over 11 feet, the wandering albatross has the largest wingspan.

The blue-eyed shag is noted for maintaining a nest year round in open ocean areas. They do not venture far out to sea.

The kelp gull is the only gull to inhabit Antarctica.

Emperor penguins are the deepest diving bird. It routinely dives to depths between 100 and 150 meters. The deepest dive ever recorded was a whopping 535 meters. Difficulty: Easy.

 

blue-eyed shag, kelp gull, emperor penguin