They Came From The North Trivia Quiz

Answer: Polar Bear

Although it is directly related to the brown bear that lives mainly in the forests of the Northern Hemisphere, the polar bear is a marine mammal. Its fur is actually transparent, but reflects both the light of the sun and the white of the snow, giving the polar bear its distinctive white colouring. Polar bears are so well insulated with blubber, fur and hide, that they are almost invisible to infra-red photography.

Answer: Lion's Mane Jellyfish

The largest discovered specimen of a lion's mane Jellyfish was longer than a blue whale. They are named after lions' manes because they have a large number of tentacles, which move together like a thick mane of hair. Lion's mane jellyfish do not cope well with warm water and so remain within the Arctic region for the duration of their one year lifespan, though some have been found further south, possibly as a result of strong currents dragging them along.

Answer: Walrus

One particular subspecies of walrus, the Laptev walrus, lives predominantly in the Laptev Sea of the Arctic region. They are large animals which live in shallow waters and feed mainly on molluscs. They are very well insulated and have been used by humans for centuries as a source of meat, warmth and materials.

In particular, their tusks have been used to make tools by a number of indigenous peoples within the Arctic region. Walruses use their tusks to pull themselves out of the water onto continental shelves.

Answer: Arctic Hare

Arctic hares can run at a rate of up to 40 km per hour. This is helpful as they are the main prey of both the Arctic fox and the grey wolf. Though they look like rabbits and other species of hare, they have a lower surface area to volume ratio which keeps them warm.

Their coats are usually white, though it slightly changes colour in spring and summer to blend in with local blue-grey rocks and vegetation.

Answer: Arctic Fox

Arctic foxes have shorter ears and limbs than foxes found elsewhere in the world. This gives them a better body volume to surface area ratio, keeping them warmer throughout the cold weather. Their hearing is so good that they can hear small animals burrowing under the snow, and they change their fur colour with each season to maintain a good level of camouflage.

Answer: Ringed Seal

Ringed seals get their name from the light grey coloured circular patterns on their otherwise darker grey skin. They spend the majority of their time in the water and they can stay underwater for around 45 minutes, though they maintain breathing holes in the ice to ensure availability of oxygen. Ringed seals do come out of the water onto the ice to breed and to pup, though this makes them vulnerable to predators such as polar bears and humans.

Answer: Beluga Whale

Unlike most whales and similar creatures, the beluga whale doesn't have a dorsal fin, though they do have a protuberance at the top of their heads which have led to the nickname "melonhead whales". Killer whales are their main natural predator, though they have long been hunted by indigenous Arctic peoples of Russia and North America. Beluga whales are migratory, though they are often found in shallow river estuaries during the summer, having migrated down from the Arctic region.

Answer: Atlantic Puffin

Puffins live both in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the North Pacific Ocean, though they are often considered to be different species depending on which ocean they inhabit. The Atlantic puffin is found mostly close to Newfoundland, Greenland, the British Isles, northern Scandinavia and Iceland, though they can be seen further south during the summer months. Puffins are well known for their bright black and red beaks, which contrast against their grey and white bodies.

Its bright colours and the fact that it waddles when it walks have led to the nickname "clown of the sea".

Answer: Snowy Owl

Adult male snowy owls are usually pure white, though the females may have more dark spots. During the winter months, these owls do migrate southwards, and they have been seen as far south as Florida and Texas. Snowy owls nest on the northern-most stretches of land in the Arctic circle and, though they have very few predators, they defend their nests by dive-bombing anything that comes near.

Snowy owls have become particularly popular in popular culture in recent years thanks to the "Harry Potter" franchise, in which Harry's owl, Hedwig, is a snowy owl.

Answer: Reindeer

Reindeer are the only Cervids in which the females also grow antlers. The colour of reindeer fur can vary wildly, but Arctic reindeer usually have lighter (if not white) fur than their more southern counterparts. Unlike any other mammal, they produce the enzyme lichenase which can break down lichen into glucose and allows them to feed all year round. Reindeer are very susceptible to prey by wolf packs and humans, and there is at least one species of reindeer which is already extinct.