North Pole
True or False: Polar bears eat more than 100 penguins every year.
FALSE! There are no penguins in the North Pole.
True or False: Antarctica is the largest desert in the world.
TRUE! Antartica is a polar desert.
True or False: Polar bears have white skin and fur to help them blend into the snow and ice.
False! Polar bears have black skin and clear fur. Sun shines through their clear fur to their black skin and warms them up.
True or False: Hibernation is a way for animals to survive the harsh cold weather conditions.
True! During hibernation an animal lowers its body temperature, slows its breathing rate, heart rate, and metabolic rate-the rate its body uses energy.
True or False: Walrus can only stay under water for about 10 minutes.
True! Walruses can slow down their heartbeat to withstand the chilly water temperatures and to help them stay under water for as long as ten minutes. They spend 2/3 of their lives in water.
True or False: Polar bears are the largest living carnivores on Earth.
True! Male polar bears can be larger than 8 ft long and weigh over 1,700lbs.
True or False: Only 2 of the 18 species of penguin permanently live on Antartica.
TRUE! Emperor penguins and Adélie penguins are the only two species to live in Antartica. Chinstraps, macaroni's, gentoos rockhoppers, Megalai's, and kings all live nearby on subantarctic islands.
True or False: Penguins have fur that keeps them warm and dry.
False! Penguins are a bird. They are covered in about 100 feathers per square inch. Penguins have more feathers than any other bird.
True or False: Bears hibernate in the winter.
False! Bears enter a state of Torpor. The main difference between hibernation and torpor is during torpor, the animal is able to wake up quickly to avoid danger, or if the opportunity exists exit the den to feed.
True or False: Only male narwals will grow large spiral tusks.
True! Both male and females are born with two small teeth embedded in their skulls, but only in males does the front left tooth grow into a spiral tusk. 1 in 500 males will have two tusks.
True or False: Only 100 different species of animals live in the Arctic.
False! Over 5,500 animals live in the Arctic.
True or False: Penguins are the most abundant animal in Antarctica.
False! The most abundant land animal on Antarctica is not the penguin, but the tiny nematode worm.
More than 20 species of birds and mammals in the northern hemisphere undergo total color transformations from brown to white between summer and winter. Including arctic hares, weasels, and arctic fox.
True or False: While hibernating some animals will wake up to eat stored food.
True! Hibernation can last for days, weeks, or months depending upon the species. Chipmunks are true hibernators, but they wake every few days to feed on stored food and to urinate and defecate.
True or False: Killer whales are actually the largest species of dolphin.
True!Orcas (Orcinus orca), often called Killer Whales, are actually the worlds biggest dolphins and are members of the Delphinidae family which also includes species such as Bottlenose Dolphins and Pilot Whales.
True or False: Temperatures in the Arctic have reached as low as –94°F.
True! Temperatures as low as -94 degrees F have been recorded in northern Greenland.
True or False: The coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth was recorded in Antarctica.
True! While the coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth was measured in Antarctica at -136 F.
True or False: Bears can sleep for more than 100 days to help them survive the harsh winter weather.
True! Bears can sleep more than 100 days without eating, drinking, or passing waste!
True or False: Dormice can spend 11 months in hibernation.
True! Dormice hold the record for the longest hibernators. In fact, the name dormouse comes from the French word ‘dormir’ meaning ‘to sleep’.
True or False: Leopard seals are only able to dive 100 feet below the surface.
False! They are very good swimmers and divers, reaching depths of more than 1,000 feet.
True or False: The Arctic is its own country.
False! The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, the USA, Greenland, Norway, Finland, Sweden and Iceland.
True or False: Antarctica has every time zone on Earth.
True! Antarctica lies on all the longitudinal lines since the South Pole is near the center of Antarctica. So, the continent is situated in every time zone. Most scientists use the same time zone as their funding country.
True or False: The wood frog can survive being frozen and thawed a few times a season.
True! During this time, they stop breathing and their hearts stop beating. Their bodies produce a special antifreeze substance that prevents ice from freezing within their cells, which would be deadly. Ice does form, however, in the spaces between the cells. When the weather warms, the frogs thaw and begin feeding and mating again.
True or False: Some aquatic turtles hibernate through winter at the bottom of ponds.
True! Aquatic turtles like, the yellow spotted turtles and painted turtles, will spend several months buried in mud at the bottom of ponds when they hibernate. They can take in oxygen through their butts!
True or False: Beluga whales are called the canaries of the sea.
Beluga whales are very social. They use clicks, trills, chirps, and calls to communicate with other whales. Their sounds are very musical and they are sometimes known as the “canaries of the sea.”