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| WILD ARCTIC FUN GUIDE |
| Polar Profiles |
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Polar Bear Ursus maritimus |
| Size: |
Males - 2.5 to 3 m (8.2-9.8 ft.); 350 to over 650 kg (770-1,500+lb.)
Females - 2 to 2.5 m (6.6-8.2 ft.); 150 to 250 kg (330-550 lb.) |
| Distribution: |
Arctic coasts, islands, and adjacent sea ice of Eurasia and North America. |
| Prey: |
Ringed seals, sea birds, carcasses of stranded marine mammals, small land mammals, reindeer, fish, and vegetation. |
| Predators: |
No natural predators. |
| Fun Fact: |
At birth, polar bear cubs weigh only about 900 g (about 2 lb.) |
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BELUGA WHALE Delphinapterus leucas |
| Size: |
3 to 4.5 m (10-15 ft.); 680 to 1,497 kg (1,500-3,300 lb.).
Males are larger than females. |
| Distribution: |
Arctic and subarctic areas |
| Prey: |
Squids, octopuses, shrimps, and a variety of bottom-dwelling fishes. |
| Predators: |
Killer whales and polar bears. |
| Fun Fact: |
The beluga whale was given the nickname "sea canary" by early scientists and sailors, due to the birdlike sounds it makes. |
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PACIFIC WALRUS Odobenus rosmarus divergens |
| Size: |
Males-2.7 to 3.5 m (9-11 ft.); 800 to 1,700 kg (1,760-3,750 lb.)
Females-2.3 to 3 m (7.5-10 ft.); 400 to 1,250 kg (880-2,750 lb.)
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| Distribution: |
Arctic Pacific |
| Prey: |
Clams, mussels, fishes, snails, crabs, shrimps, and squids. Some eat seals and small whales. |
| Predators: |
Killer whales and polar bears. |
| Fun Fact: |
The sensitive, bristly whiskers (or vibrissae) of the walrus are used to feel for molluscs on the ocean bottom. |
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HARBOR SEAL Phoca vitulina |
| Size: |
Males-1.5 to 2 m (5-6.5 ft.); 70 to 170 kg (150-375 lb.)
Females-1.2 to 1.5 m (4-5 ft.); 50 to 150 kg (110-330 lb.) |
| Distribution: |
Temperate, subarctic, and arctic waters of the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. |
| Prey: |
Fishes, shrimps, squids, and octopuses. |
| Predators: |
Killer whales, sharks, and Stellar sea lions. Coyotes and eagles sometimes eat pups. |
| Fun Fact: |
Unlike a sea lion, a harbor seal can't rotate its hind flippers underneath its body. On land, a harbor seal moves by undulating its body in a caterpillar-like motion. |
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ARCTIC FOX Alopex lagopus |
| Size: |
0.7 to 1.1 m (2.3-3.6 ft.); 1.4 to 9 kg (3.1-19.8 lb.) |
| Distribution: |
Arctic regions of Eurasia, North America, Greenland, and Iceland.
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| Prey: |
Lemmings, voles, seabirds, ringed seals, and remains of marine mammals. |
| Predators: |
Very few natural predators. Young foxes may sometimes be hunted by birds of prey. |
| Fun Fact: |
The den of an arctic fox usually has 4-12 entrances and covers about 30 sq. m (323 sq. ft.). Some dens may be used for centuries, by many generations, and eventually become huge, with over 100 entrances. |
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RINGED SEAL Phoca hispida |
| Size: |
70 kg (154 lb.) and 1.5 m
(4.9 ft.); males slightly larger than
females; ringed seals are the
smallest of all pinniped.
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| Distribution: |
Arctic waters; very widespread and abundant. |
| Prey: |
Depending on location and season: amphipods, shrimps, squids, cods, and
sculpins. |
| Predators: |
polar bears and killer whales. |
| Fun Fact: |
In a behavior unique to pinnipeds, a female ringed seal gives birth within a
snow-covered lair, a protective enclosure of ice.
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ARCTIC CHAR Alvelinus alpinus |
| Size: |
45 to 63.5 cm (17.7-25 in.); up to 96 cm (37.8 in.) |
| Distribution: |
Circumpolar; inshore marine waters, lakes, and rivers around the northern hemisphere, including northern North America, northern Asia, northern Europe, Iceland, Greenland, and various arctic islands. |
| Prey: |
Crustacean zooplankton, amphipods, capelin, seasnails, sculpins, and other fishes. |
| Predators: |
Seals, terns, and loons. Young char are often eaten by their larger relatives. |
| Fun Fact: |
The arctic char is the most northerly species of freshwater fishes. (They may move downstream to the sea in spring, returning in autumn, or they may remain permanently in fresh water.) |
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