hello everyone and welcome back i'm justin and i've heard what you've been saying
you said justin please please i love learning about different places on the earth could you
please teach us about another biome well today is your lucky day because today i'm going to be
teaching you guys about a really cool place and i mean a really cool place the arctic
unlike other biomes that we've talked about that can be found all over the earth the arctic is only
found in one place it's right up here at the most top or northern part of the earth let me tell you
it gets cold there i'm not talking five degrees below zero cold or even 10
not 20 or even 50 degrees below zero in the arctic it gets as cold as 70 degrees below zero
wow there's also an ocean up here too and that's called the arctic ocean makes sense about half
the year it's all icy and cold and it looks like this and the other half of the year all
the ice and snow melts and the ocean looks like this huh another cool thing about the arctic is
that during the winter months it's dark all the time every day no sunshine it's only until the
springtime when the sun starts to come back into the sky but during the summer months it's sunshine
all day every day no darkness so if you were there you'd go to bed when it's still light out
no wonder the arctic is sometimes called the land of the midnight sun now you may think that with
all the extreme temperatures and freezing winds and the cold and the ice and the snow and the
days and months of darkness that nothing could live in the arctic wrong there is so much life
in the arctic it's not just a lonely barren cold area of nothingness the animals that live in the
arctic depend on the freezing of the ocean and the land and then when the ice melts the
freezing and the melting it's a seasonal rhythm that the animals need to survive and thrive well
what kinds of animals are we talking about well there's microorganisms in the ice fish and sea
mammals in the ocean birds birds birds birds and land animals like polar bears and seals
most of these animals don't live anywhere else in the world the arctic is the only place they
call their home so let's take a minute and learn about some of these amazing animals
and how they're able to survive in the cold cold weather do you know what kind of animal this is
that's right it's a polar bear you could say that a polar bear is the king of the arctic
we're talking huge a polar bear's paw is the size of a large dinner plate these massive bears go
out onto the ice and hunt for seals they eat as much as they can and fill up their bellies in the
winter time because when the summer rolls around there's not as much food around for them to eat
they'll take it slow not use up too much energy they'll wait for the ice to reappear in the fall
when it gets cooler and then they'll go out and hunt more and fill their bellies all over again
while most polar bears are out hunting on the ice a mother polar bear will hide in a cozy
den to have her babies this is a picture of what a polar bear's dead looks like
underground you can see that there's an entrance to go in and out and special little places for the
mother polar bear and her babies there's even an air hole so that the polar bears can still breathe
underneath all that ice the arctic is also home to a special kind of big cat called a lynx a lynx
has big wide feet that help it run fast across the snow without sinking in you know a lynx's
feet are kind of like snowshoes which people wear to keep themselves from sinking into the snow too
do you know what kind of animal this is that's right it's a wolf the arctic wolf
lives in the arctic i guess that's why they call it the arctic wolf huh anyway
these guys are powerful hunters and they'll hunt together in a group
called a pack the arctic wolf will howl to other members of its pack in order to talk to each other
who's cold in the arctic not this guy this is a walrus and it's got tons of layers of fat or
blubber underneath its skin to keep warm you see those big white teeth it's got those are called
tusks a walrus uses its tusks to move across the ice or to lift itself up out of the water
it's not so much the fat as does the fur for these guys musk oxen they have several
thick layers of fur to keep them warm they'll also travel in groups called herds as a matter of fact
musk oxen have a clever way of keeping each other safe if a baby muscox is in danger like say from
a predator the other musk oxen will form a tight circle around it horns out hmm who's hiding here
can you see the arctic fox in this image can you see the arctic hair in this one
these animals have bright white fur coats to help them blend into the snow the arctic
hare likes to stay hidden from predators animals that might want to eat it whereas the arctic fox
likes to stay blended into the background so that it won't be seen
when it's on the hunt in the summer when all the snow melts these animals fur coats
change to a dark brown color so that they can blend into the rocks and soil instead
it's a baby seal did you know that baby seals are called pups
their bright white fuzzy fluffy fur coat helps them stay safe in the snow too as a baby seal
grows up and starts to go swimming its white fur coat will change into a dark gray with black spots
this will help it stay hidden in the dark ocean waters away from the eyes of killer whales and
sharks caribou live in the arctic too in the cold winter months they like to travel south
to a different part of the arctic where it's warmer in order to prepare for this long journey
there's only one thing that a caribou does when it's not traveling eating there are many different
types of birds that visit the arctic in the summer months too like this guy is an amazing traveler
the arctic turn travels around the world every year they'll lay their eggs in the arctic during
the summer months fly all the way to antarctica for the winter and then fly all the way back up
to the arctic when summer begins i'd be huffing and puffing if i had to fly that many miles
speaking of puffin this bird is called a puffin they're great swimmers and they come up on lanta
have babies and make nests their feathers are waterproof allowing them to hold in warm
air in the icy cold waters of the arctic a snowy owl how do you think that this owl's
white feathers help it survive in the arctic that's right these white feathers help the
owl blend into the snow and the ice so that it won't be seen when it goes out to hunt
what does that sound mean i can't hear you that's right it's joke time and i have got
some great arctic theme jokes for you guys today all right what do polar bears like to eat
burgers okay okay okay here's another one here's another one where do polar bears
keep their money in snow bags get it snow banks
ah whoa who is this is this a unicorn this my friends is a special type of whale called a
narwhal the male narwhals have a big long tusk coming out of their heads that's not a horn
that's a tooth beluga whales and narwhals are some of the many different types of whales
that live in the arctic waters like us all whales are mammals so they can't breathe
underwater and have to come up for air but they all have several layers of blubber
or fat to keep them warm the area of the arctic that's wide open rocky land is called the tundra
the ground in the tundra is frozen but some plants can still grow there in the summer months
lots of animals such as moose depend on the plants they find there for food
however there's another area of the arctic that warms up a lot more in the summer months so you'll
actually see trees there this part of the arctic is called the tiger amour tigers live in the taiga
tigers in the tiger these types of tigers are very rare and they're also the largest of all
the different kinds of tigers porcupines live in the taiga too they climb the trees and eat berries
nuts pine needles and tree bark people live in the arctic too most of them live in the parts
of the arctic that are warmer and greener but some people do live in the very very cold places
during the winter months they'll get around on snowmobile or by sled here is a reindeer getting
ready to pull a sled for someone the arctic isn't a great place to grow crops or farm so people tend
to make the most of the plants animals and fish that they find there for their food and materials
so now you know that even though the arctic is way way up north and it's very cold and very dark for
a lot of the year it's still filled with life yep the arctic is a very cool place and now you know
that it's cool in more ways than one you stay cool everyone and remember to always be clever