9781422279229

6

A R C T I C W I L D L I F E

I ntroduction

N othing lives right at the North Pole. The pole is actually in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, so even Santa and Rudolph would need a houseboat! But the area surrounding thepole—theArcticCircle—ishome to some amazingwildlife.These animals have to be hardy and strong. In the cold climate and harsh terrain of the Arctic, survival is a challenge. The Arctic Circle is an imaginary line drawn around the very top of

the globe. Imagine if you took a (very small) saucer and placed it on top of a (very large) beach ball—that’s about what the area inside theArctic Circle looks like.TheArctic region, however, is not really a circle. Scientists usually define the Arctic as the area north of the tree line—the farthest northern point where trees are able to grow. In some areas this extends south of the Arctic Circle, and in other places stops north of it.

Polar bears are at the top of the Arctic food chain, but their future is more and more in doubt because of climate change.