Cold tolerant organisms have evolved various methods for coping with very low temperatures. Some animals hibernate, take shelter, or even migrate to warmer areas. Others, such as Antarctic seals, have warm fur and a thick layer of blubber for insulation. Arctic plants tend to be small and grow low to the ground and can be coated with hair and wax to avoid wind chill. Some insects, amphibians and microbes can even withstand being frozen solid.
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Frozen turtles
Painted turtles have a natural anti-freeze that helps them survive winter.
Painted turtles have a natural anti-freeze that helps them survive winter.
Small but tough
In the Arctic summer, meltwater from glaciers provides enough water for plants to grow.
In the Arctic summer, meltwater from glaciers provides enough water for plants to grow.
Arctic plants
Plants struggle to survive in the freezing polar regions.
Plants struggle to survive in the freezing polar regions.
Penguin wrappers
Penguins evolved in the tropics, but most have adapted to cold climates.
Penguins evolved in the tropics, but most have adapted to cold climates.
Moss menagerie
A minute colony survives the freezing cold of the South Orkney Islands.
A minute colony survives the freezing cold of the South Orkney Islands.
Arctic fox
Baikal seal
Crabeater seal
Eurasian lynx
Leopard seal
Polar bear
Pusa seals
Ringed seal
Snow leopard
Tiger
Walrus
Weddell seal
Wolverine
American bison
Argali sheep
Bactrian camel
Bharal
Dall sheep
Irish elk
Musk ox
Pronghorn antelope
Reindeer
Saiga
Mountain hare
Plateau pika
Woolly rhinoceros
Yunnan snub-nosed monkey
American mastodon
Columbian mammoth
Mammoths
Woolly mammoth
Arctic ground squirrel
Himalayan marmot
Lemmings
Bowhead whale
Adelie penguin
Chinstrap penguin
Emperor penguin
Gentoo penguin
King penguin
Macaroni penguin
Bar-headed goose
Ptarmigan
Snowy owl
Andean hillstar
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