Animals Of The Arctic (1979)

[Music] [Music] the Arctic is a vast region that includes all the world north of an imaginary Circle between the 66th and 67th degree of latitude this latitude has special meaning above it there are 24 hours of daylight in Summer's longest day and 2 24 hours of darkness in Winter's shortest day in this Northern land of snow and ice the polar bear Reigns over the animal kingdom a big male polar bear may be 8 ft long and weigh over 1,000 lb this giant me eater is well suited to life in the frozen Arctic its heavy fur and thick layer of fat protect it from the cold even the soles of its feet are covered with long coarse hair that acts almost like tire chains on a car to allow the polar bear to travel quickly over ice without slipping or sliding its well-oiled fur and streamlined shape help it swim for miles in the Arctic Ocean this Mighty Hunter is one of the few creatures that can survive the bitter winters of the Arctic but even at the North Pole winter doesn't last forever Summer's long days of sunshine bring a dramatic change flowers place the snow in the arctic's broad treeless plains called the tundra come to life for a few brief months these warmer sunnier days are the best time of year to observe caribou and the other animals that make up the unusual Wildlife community of the Arctic the Caribou is the most common large animal found here in summer living is easy for the Caribou herds Wander from place to place fattening on Rich vegetation during winter they must eat whatever plant life they can find but in summer they can choose to feed on just the tenderest willow [Music] leaves most of the year they wear antlers Caribou are the deer of the far north the herds move constantly during spring and fall many of them travel hundreds of miles to reach favorite feeding grounds soon the Caribou disappear over the ridge the paths that they follow on migrations are worn into deep ruts from use by generations of caribou herds a single Caribou taken by an Eskimo for food may be the only one left behind when the herd moves on the golden Plover one of the world's greatest migrators lives on the tundra in summer each year it may fly 16,000 miles from the Arctic to South America and Back Again on the tundra the Plover frequently walks and somehow from all this land it picks one special little spot that is just right for its [Music] eggs the golden Plover is named for its bright tipped feathers even the chicks appear to be dusted with powdered gold their exposed Nest has little protection so if an enemy approaches the Plover tries to lead It Away by acting crippled when danger passes the play ends before winter returns this Plover family will leave the Arctic to begin their long journey South Jagger spend much of their lives at Sea robbing guls of fish but they come ashore to Nest watch out for them these Fearless Swift Flyers don't flee but attack if you get too close to their eggs usually this attack doesn't hurt the victim but it's often enough to frighten away an enemy and keep the nest [Music] safe th ropes have an unusual Family Life the male takes charge of raising the Young because the female leaves home after laying the eggs the father's duties include leading the chicks to food and safety fellow ropes are equally at home on land or water the young leave the nest within a day after hatching they gather their own insect meals and swim without a single lesson the little ones follow their father wherever he might might go sometimes one may choose the Overland route it's rough but finally all gather safe and sound under their father's warming chest when feeding an adult fope spins like a top in shallow water to stir up the little animals it eats from the lake bottom in addition to shore birds such as feres the Arctic has a variety of water fowl among them are old squa Ducks which raise Downy Broods on the many lakes dotting the landscape there are also great numbers of kada geese white graceful whistling swans Nest here too moving to the oceans we may find water-loving m anim in certain areas along the coasts there are herds of walrus in summer they come asore on islands where they might join thousands of seabirds close relatives of seals walrus are clumsy on land but Swift and graceful in water however sooner or later they get tired while swimming and must have a place to rest some biologists believe that walrus use their ivory tusks which may grow 3 ft long long to pull themselves out of the water onto slippery ice flows in Winter a big male Wallace or bull May weigh a ton and a half it is one of the few animals that even a polar bear generally won't attack in the water walrus feed mainly on shellfish and other animal foods from the ocean floor Arctic waters are loaded with fish Eskimos depend upon them for food many of the fish are dried and eaten later or fed to sled dogs but some are eaten as they come raw though water covers much of the Arctic snow bunding will have nothing to do with it they hunt insects on the tundra and Nest high and dry in a crevice or crack in a rock pile during the Arctic short summer snow buntings like many other animals take full advantage of the long daylight hours to gather food these song birds may work nearly 20 hours a day when winter approaches most migrate to Southern Canada [Music] there are more birds than any other type of warm-blooded animal in the Arctic in the summer the birds generally find the weather is mild and food plentiful however only about a half a dozen kinds of birds stay in North America's Arctic the year around among them are Tagan daragan is a poor flyer that can't make long migratory trips to the warmer lands of the [Music] South Tagan are red or gray in summer but during winter they will wear white feathers to match the color of the snow The Raven which always dresses in black might also stay in the Arctic all winter the intelligent Raven lives by its wits but in summer even this clever bird can escape from bloodthirsty mosquitoes the ghost of the Arctic Skies the snowy owl may stay behind in winter too it sometimes prays upon Tagan and Ravens in their simple Nest the young owls look like fluffy lumps of charcoal as the young grow up or mature they too will turn white and learn to use their sharp eyes to hunt food across the tundra one of the animals they will hunt is the leming this common rodent which is about the size of a field mouse is active in All Seasons it feeds on grasses and seeds during winter the leming makes tunnel-like runways under the snow A long shaggy fur coat helps it keep [Music] warm the Arctic hair is another animal that might be hunted by the snowy owl like Tagan the hair will also change color to white when the snow begins to fly the Arctic ground squirrel stays in the Arctic the year around but it knows little about the blizzards of [Music] winter during summer months it busily scurries around looking for meal after meal in order to gain weight it also digs a burrow in loose dry soil it uses this burrow for rest and to escape from danger and when The Long Winter Begins the bir squirel becomes a bedroom for hibernation living off its body fat the ground squirrel will snooze in here until spring the ground squirrel and many other creatures are in great danger when this animal is about the mighty grizzly bear can literally tear the Earth apart to reach a bite-sized ground squirrel hiding in its burrow the grizzly bear which may weigh as much as 1,400 lb is among the most dangerous animals on the continent it can kill animals as large as Caribou with one blow of its huge paw but the grizzly is omnivorous which means that it not only eats meat but also roots and berries this Inland relative of the polar bear wanders widely over the tundra in summer searching for food like like the ground squirrel it must fatten up for winter hibernation the short tail weasel is as small as a chipmunk cute as a kitten quick as a wink but meaner than a wild cat at meal time all year long Meek little lemings discover the Savage Fury of this wheel the wolf is another Tundra predator or hutter trotting easily on its long legs it tirelessly roams the Arctic among its favorite prey are caribou during winter packs of wolves follow the Caribou herds in summer wolves hunt alone or in small family groups the pups are left behind during the hunt by 3 months of age the pups can howl like adults to communicate with others [Music] wolves no list of arctic animals would be complete without mentioning musk oxin when wolves attack a herd of these Shaggy creatures the adults often surround the young muskoxen in a protective Circle and face outward to meet the charge of the attacking wolves with their horns each muskox wears an Overcoat of long fur that almost touches is the Earth and underneath the fur they dress in the finest of wool this protects them against some of the coldest temperatures and winds that nature can offer a peculiar odor gives the MUSC its name but that odor is one that few of us will ever know because the muscot lives in a land so vast and wild and often in weathers so severe that people don't often care to come near as summer draws to an end the nesting season is complete a small number of Hardy creatures will stay to face the winter warm dress special Foods or hibernation will see them through when the plants of the tundra become covered with snow but others especially the birds will migrate south before the coming of winter storms they leave behind a land that blooms splendidly for a few brief months in summer sunlight but now the Earth tilts toward winter and the sun swings lower soon the midnight sun will disappear into the darkness of Arctic winter it is time to go