WILDLIFEThe sea, rather than the land, is what supports most creatures such as penguins and seals. It's often warmer than the land, so is a good place to retreat to and warm up to a balmy -2ºC. Permanently land-living plants and animals in Antarctica are small and ground-hugging to avoid wind chill and the accompanying dehydration.

WILDLIFEAntarctica holds the record for being the coldest place on Earth, which together with extensive ice cover and lack of winter sunlight makes the continent pretty inhospitable to life.

WILDLIFEAll of the Antarctic animals have adapted to extremely cold conditions. Some, like the whales, seals, and birds, have an insulating layer of fat to protect them. Others, like many fish and insects, have special chemicals in their blood (natural antifreeze proteins) that keep them from freezing. Many animals (like penguins and seals) have a compact body form and thick skin to help retain body heat. Birds also have waterproof plumage and insulating feathers.

ANIMALSThere are a lot of sea animals in Antarctica-

whales, fish, and krill (small crustaceans

like prawns). The only land animals in penguins

Antarctica are penguins and seals (and people).

krill

whales fish

SEALSOnly six species of seals live in Antarctica- elephant seals, Antarctic fur seals, crabeater seals, leopard Seals, Ross seals, and Weddell seals. However, these six species make up the majority of the world's seal population. With no natural land predators, such as polar bears or man, Antarctic seals behave much differently than northern seals, showing little fear of man.

FISH AND INSECTSSome animals, like many fish and insects, have special chemicals in their blood (natural antifreeze proteins) that keep them from freezing. Many animals (like penguins and seals) have a compact body form and thick skin to help retain body heat. Birds also have waterproof plumage (feathers) and downy insulating feathers.

There are very few species of fish in the Southern Ocean. The channichthyidae family, also known as white-blooded fish, are only found in the Southern Ocean. They lack haemoglobin in their blood, resulting in their blood being colourless.

FISH AND INSECTS

Because of the extreme cold climate in this continent, plants generally do not grow in abundance. Antarctica does not offer some essential elements to its plants such as the inadequate amount of sunlight, poor soil quality, lack of moisture, and above all, consistent freezing temperatures.

PLANTS

As a result plants grow in limited region. In this continent, some 25 species of liverworts and 100 species of mosses grow each year.The flora of Antarctica primarily consists of bryophytes. However, they grow only for few weeks or perhaps for a few days in summer.

PLANTS