Traipsing Through The Tundra Trivia Quiz

Answer: Arctic Fox

The Arctic fox, also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, has adapted to its life on the tundra in several ways. First, its fur changes color during the winter in order to provide camouflage. Not particularly picky about the food it eats, the Arctic fox is a scavenger, eating whatever is left behind by other larger animals.

In fact, it typically follows polar bears or other animals and eats what they leave behind. To do this, however, the Arctic fox has adopted a very stealthy movement - an absolute necessity - due to the lack of shelter on the tundra.

Answer: Caribou

Also known as a reindeer, the male caribou typically has larger antlers than the female. Its large, spreading hooves are, in part, what enable the caribou to survive in both the marshy summer tundra and frozen winter tundra; in summer they offer support and in winter they are used to clear away snow while searching for food - and - the hooves actually change shape during the different seasons.

In addition, caribou have a double coat of hair; the hair next to the skin keeps the animal dry, while the outside hair acts as an insulator to trap body heat.

Answer: Arctic Hare

The Arctic hare is one of the largest lagomorphs, which is the order containing hares, rabbits, and pikas. A folivore, a herbivore that eats leaves, the Arctic hare, also called a polar rabbit, will eat other foods as well in order to survive the long Arctic winter, even eating meat when necessary.

Their fast speed and white camouflaged coat, which turns a blue-gray in the summer, enable them to both avoid prey and find food. Their thick fur and shortened ears are physical adaptations that enable them to stay warm; in a really tough situation they have been known to huddle with other Arctic hares for warmth or dig burrows in the snow.

Answer: Ermine

Another animal whose coat color changes with the season, the ermine which is brown in the summer with a white underbelly and white in the winter, always retains the black tip on its tail. Typically called an ermine only in its white winter coat, the stoat, or short-tailed weasel, is well adapted to life on the tundra.

Its thick fur is one of the most important adaptations that allows the ermine to survive the cold Arctic winter. In fact, in the winter time they blend in so well with the snow that it is difficult to even detect them.

The ermine's claws enable the animal to burrow into the dens of their prey, and they are so fast and quiet, and their bodies so flexible that they are typically very successful hunters.

Answer: Lemming

Contrary to popular belief, lemmings do not commit mass suicide by jumping off cliffs. Rather, at times when the population becomes too great, some lemmings have a biological urge to migrate in search of a new territory. It is during these migrations while swimming to locate a new habitat that many lemmings may drown if they have chosen too wide of a water body to cross.

Another animal whose dark coat turns to white in the winter, lemmings are well-camouflaged as protection against their predators. Lemmings eat plants such as leaves and grasses, which they store away in their tunnels in preparation for the long, cold winter.

Answer: Emperor Penguin

Living in extremely harsh conditions, the emperor penguin is the only animal that braves the open ice of the Antarctic during the winter. Interestingly, the muscles that are used for waddling are located higher in the body - to keep them warm. The four layers of feathers create a waterproof coat, and they are able to store fat which is an additional insulation from the freezing temperatures.

In order to protect the egg from the cold ice, the male keeps it on his feet, further sheltering with a layer of skin, which is called the brood pouch.

When they really feel cold, emperor penguins resort to huddling. Large groups, even into the thousands of penguins, will get together to shield each other from the freezing temperatures. This is estimated to cut in half the amount of fat they must burn in order to stay alive.

Answer: Musk Ox

The male musk ox emits a strong odor during mating season which attracts females. Its long, long hair - up to two feet long - is what helps to protect the musk ox from the cold Arctic weather. In addition, it has a thick woolly undercoat which helps to retain body heat. During the summer months the musk ox herd of about ten will eat continuously to gain body fat.

When winter approaches, the herd will double in size; this helps them to defend against predators and gain warmth by huddling together.

They also migrate even further north, where the wind is so fierce that it blows the snow off the ground. There the musk ox will find plants like willow and bearberry.

Answer: Polar Bear

The favorite food of the polar bear is seals! A patient hunter, the polar bear will stalk his prey until it surfaces to breathe or comes up on the ice to rest. Not to worry, though, if seals are not available, the polar bear will eat other animals and even plants! Its survival in the Arctic is due to the fact that the polar bear has two coats of fur, as well as a thick layer of blubber to keep its body warm.

In addition, its wide paws make it easy to travel over the snow. Not only do polar bears have hairs and bumps on the bottom of their feet to provide traction, they also have a webbing between their toes to use for swimming.

Answer: Beluga

The beluga, also called the white whale, does not have a dorsal fin; it is one of the modifications that allows it to live in cold temperatures. The dorsal fin would make traveling through icy water more difficult. The distinctive white skin of a beluga also serves as a camouflage from predators; in addition they have a higher percentage of body fat than other whales. Rather than getting caught in the ice when the sea completely freezes over and becoming easy prey for predators, belugas migrate to warmer estuaries.

Answer: Snowy Owl

When the snowy owl hatches it typically is covered with white down and becomes a light brown over time. Females become white with dark patches; however, males are usually whiter than females and grow even whiter with age. While most owls hunt at night and sleep during the day, the snowy owl hunts during the day, and is most active at dawn and dusk. Snowy owls have thick feathers - even on their toes - to keep their body warm; this makes them the heaviest owl in North America, weighing in at about four to six pounds. With wing feathers that are serrated, the snowy owl is an extremely quiet predator, and its light color serves as a camouflage both to prey and predators.

There also appears to be an option to migrate when the weather turns cold, some years they do and some years they don't. Apparently it has to do with the availability of lemmings, the snowy owl's favorite food.