Part 2: Unique Animals That Are Found Only In Antarctica Region

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Unique Animals That Are Found Only In Antarctica
Region
Antarctic continent falls in the category of the
coldest place on Earth. In Antarctica, only a
few species of animals are found due to
widespread snow cover, strong cold winds, and
lack of sunlight. Here is a list of the top 8
wonderful Antarctic animals. South Polar Skua
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The South Polar skuas breed on the Antarctica
region. They are heavy and have broad wings
seabirds. They prefer to live in open ocean
areas, which are found in Greyish brown color,
grow to a size of 21 inches. Year after year,
South polar skuas have the nature of keeping same
nest and same mate. It was their habit to make
nest close to penguin colonies, in order to
easily get the food, fishes are the favorite
food of polar skuas. With the arrival of winter
season, they migrate to North Pacific
ocean. Albatross
If we talk of the largest wingspan of any living
bird in the world, then it is the Wandering
Albatross. The range of wings varies from 2.5 to
3.5 meters. They are the inhabitants of Southern
Ocean region and also found within Islands of
Antarctica. As they large wingspan so, wandering
albatross can move smoothly and quickly on the
water surface for hours in ocean wind. Albatross
spend most of their lives in flying, and it is
rare to find them on land, and if so it is only
at the time of breeding period. They make their
colonies in lonesome islands, usually laid only
one egg and give so much of care for it. They
love to drink ocean water, prey on small fishes
and cephalopods.
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Antarctic Krill (Euphausia superba)
Dont go with the size of the Antarctic Krill, as
it is one of the most important animals in the
Antarctic food chain. Antarctic Krill is a
shrimp-like animal which is found in wide in the
range in the Southern Oceans. They form groups
called swarms which can even be seen from space.
Amazing isnt it? It can grow up to 6 cm (2.4
in). Many other Antarctic animals eat krill,
including whales, seals, and seabirds. Antarctic
Krill total weight in the world is thought to be
larger than that of any other species. Antarctic
midge (Belgica Antarctica)
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The Antarctic Midge is wingless and grows up to
size, 6 mm (.25 in) in length. When it comes to
the fact that it can live only on land, and
doesnt fly or swim, it is the largest land
animal in Antarctica. One more specialty of this
species is that it is the only insect on
mainland Antarctica. Antarctic Springtail
(Cryptopygus antarcticus)
Also Read PART I- IS ANTARCTICA IS ACTUALLY A
DESSERT? Antarctic Springtail is small, an
insect-like animal which grows to only 1-2 mm in
length and can continue to live in temperatures
as low as -30C (-22F). It has that chemically
anti-freezing nature in its body to prevent it
from freezing. Antarctic Toothfish / Patagonian
Toothfish
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Antarctic toothfish and the Patagonian toothfish
are amongst the two species of the Dissostichus
genus. Both Antarctic and Patagonian toothfish
produce natural antifreeze proteins in their
blood and tissue. Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea)
The beautiful Arctic Tern is a small seabird with
primarily white feathers, bright orange legs and
bill, and a black cap. In one year, this
unique animal travels further than any other
bird. This species is known to cover-up
distances around 40,000 km (25,000 miles) every
year. The Arctic Tern is mainly the species of
the Arctic region before they travel all the way
south to the Antarctic. This the reason why this
special species falls in both list of Arctic
animals as well as Antarctic animals. In
Antarctica, it is called as Antarctic Tern
(Sterna vittata). Killer Whale
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Killer whales are the jagged whales which are
found in all oceans including Arctic and
Antarctic region. They range of their feeding
starts from fishes, penguins, seals and even
other whales. Killer whales grow up to the giant
size of 9.5 meters and mammoth weight between 10
to 11 tons. Killer whales are very common in the
Antarctic region and have a population of 70000.
Quite large! But in winter season they move away
from coldwater of Antarctica. When it comes to
sociality, Killer whales are highly social
animals, they prefer to live in groups. The oral
behavior of killer whales becomes specific for
each group. Dusky Dolphins
Dusky dolphins are found in Antarctica,
especially with the cooler water of the Southern
Hemisphere area. Dusky dolphins are the smallest
of 33 different species of dolphins, the maximum
length found is up to 2 meters. They can easily
move smoothly and quickly through sea water
because their body is so smooth. They can also
travel long distances in the ocean as in the
search for food, make migration at night time.
Dusky dolphins are mainly found in groups with
approximate members of 20 to 25 as they are
highly social animals. For communication among
the dolphins, like any other species of dolphins,
dusky dolphins blow whistles to communicate with
each other.
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Elephant seal
Elephant seals are the biggest seal in the
Antarctic continent. Elephant seal extends up to
6 feet in length and has a body mass up to 4
tons. The reason why they acquire this name is
that of the trunk like an inflatable
nozzle. Elephant seals are found in the colonies
and male fight each other for a pair, they make
loud noise during the fight. Elephant seals spend
much time in the freezy Antarctic Ocean during
winter season and lives on the land. They prey on
fishes, squids, and many other aquatic foods.
They can also live up to two months without the
intake of food. Crabeater Seal
Also Read SECRETS OF GREENLAND WILL MESMERISE
YOUR EYES Crabeater Seals spend their entire
life on an area entirely snow-packed in
Antarctica. These large number of species of
seals found in the Southern Ocean is
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having their population of 15 million. Crabeater
seals travel long distances as per the
contraction and expansion of the ice-packs in the
Antarctic. Female seal looks after for pub for a
long time. They also used to breed on ice. They
usually eat Krill capable of diving to a depth of
250 meters. Chinstrap Penguin
Also Read Most Bizarre Stories In Antarctica
region, second most populated one in species of
penguins are the Chinstrap penguins. They have
an estimated population of 11.8 million. The name
they have is like because of a narrow black band
under the head. They are also called as ringed
penguins and bearded penguins. They live in
larger icebergs in the winter season. With the
help of stones of different sizes, they make the
nest in the land. They lay up to two eggs. Male
and female both chinstrap penguin take care of
the chicks. Their favorite things to eat
includes, shrimps, krill and small fishes and
their efforts of diving are found at night
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