ANIMALS OF ANTARCTICA

Antarctica has a zoo of animals that live there. Krill, penguins, seals, sharks and many more. Krill are the most popular animal that live in Antarctica.

Krill are very tiny prawn- like creatures. They are found in many different countries. In summer they travel to great oceans in swarms or schools. They are so tiny, only about 6cm long. Krill eat tiny sea plants that grow in the water. But nearly every animal in Antarctica eat krill. When krill is young they live under the sea.

Krill live a pretty long life, they can live up to five years old. But have to be lucky because many animals eat them they depend on them to live.

Penguins are another type of marine specie that live in Antarctica, two species of penguins, Emperor and Adelie. They both have water proof fur but only the first layer. During winter Adelie penguins travel large distances but stay within pack ice regions. They breed around the whole coast but stay where there is exposed rock

Emperor penguins are the largest of all 17 species of penguins, they can grow up to be about 1.15metres tall. Their weight is around 40kg. Colonies are located right across Antarctic continent.

One type of seal that live in Antarctica is an Elephant seal. They are much better at holding their breath and swimming compared to us. Their blood and oxygen adaptions have evolved to improve their underwater performance.

Another type of seal is a Leopard seal, they’re just a little smaller than dolphins. Pups are sometimes born on ice in April or May. Colours of Leopard seals are gray, brown and black, they have no taste buds at all. Their diet is shrimp, crab, clams, snails, cod and even penguin pups. The male weight is 250 pounds. They swim 17.5km per hour and come out of the water every two minutes. The number of leopard seals in Antarctica has dropped by 80 percent.

There are not many sharks in Antarctica. The one shark mainly studied is the salmon shark, they can be black or white. It is one of the fastest swimming sharks. They are very friendly but have rows of teeth and a massive jaw. The length that they can grow is longer than 3 metres long. When the salmon shark is swimming it mainly stays to the top of the water.