Antarctica Wildlife

What wildlife do you imagine lives in Antarctica? Now that you know the weather, you might think that not much can live there, but you would be wrong. It is teeming with fabulous sights and sounds!

Not much wildlife spends all year in Antarctica, but the most famous species that does is the penguin. There are three types of penguins, the Adelie, the Emperor, and the King. These birds live in social groups, and are remarkably tame, according to scientists who have observed them. When one thinks of Antarctica, penguins usually come to mind. Early Antarctic explorers actually thought penguins were fish and classified them accordingly. In fact, as birds, they are superbly designed for flying underwater. Effectively, their bodies are packed in blubber, with a string vest and a windproof outer parka.

Take a look at a few pictures of penguins:

Another type of Antarctic wildlife is the seal, particularly the Leopard seal. Leopard seals spend much of their time in the water, gathering food, but they do spend part of their year on the land. Crabeater seals live along and around the coasts of Antarctica. They feed on krill, which are tiny shrimplike creatures about 1 1/2 inches long.

Many whales visit the waters around Antarctica in the summer – these include the blue, humpback, sperm, and killer whales. The whales also feed on krill. Their numbers are growing again, since whale hunting has been reduced by most nations of the world.