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You’ll never meet a polar bear in a desert, and with good reason. Polar bears are built to stay warm.
Thick fat and heavy fur are just two of their heat-keeping adaptations. In fact, polar bears are so good at staying toasty, they can get overheated even in chilly temperatures.
Animals and plants are specially adapted to the climate in which they reside. Check out how these plants and animals cope with extreme climate conditions.
◀ Emperor penguins hold the record for surviving cold weather. They can endure temperatures as low as –80°F and winds up to 120 miles per hour. They get a lot of help from thick layers of fat and feathers, which hold in heat. But they also get help from each other, because penguins keep warm by huddling together. Group snuggling can reduce the loss of body heat by half.
The roots of the creosote bush release chemicals that prevent other plants from growing anywhere near it. This means the plant has less competition for water and nutrients. ▶
◀ When winter comes, some bats sleep in and some take off. The red bat, for example, spends the fall gobbling up insects and storing body fat, then hibernates during the winter. The point of hibernating is to conserve energy – important because insects and other food are scarce in winter. The greater long-nosed bat (left), on the other hand, heads for sunny Mexico. In spring, it migrates back north to Texas or New Mexico.
▲ During dry months, a spadefoot toad hides deep underground. When it hears a thunderstorm, it digs its way out and quickly finds a pool of rainwater to lay its eggs in. In just 48 hours, the eggs hatch into tadpoles. Over the next 10 days, the tadpoles become toads – just in time to hop away before the rainwater dries up.
▲ A burrow is a great place to beat the desert heat. It’s also a great place to stay warm during cold desert nights. Some desert species, like these spotted hyena pups, only come out of their burrows around sunrise and sunset.
▲ The ptarmigan is one of the most feathery birds around. It even has feathers on its feet and in its nostrils! Feathers, like fur, are a great insulator. They act like a thick winter coat to keep heat in and cold out. When things get really chilly, the ptarmigan flies straight into a snowbank, creating a tiny snow cave that protects it from cold winds.
▲ This painted turtle basks in sunlight to get warmed up. If it starts to feel overheated, it slips into the cool water. To fight extreme freezing temperatures, the turtle has a secret weapon. Its body produces an antifreeze that keeps ice from forming inside its organs.
▲ Cacti have large root systems. During a rare desert rainstorm, their roots quickly soak up water. Once captured, the water is protected from evaporation by the plant’s thick, waxy skin.
▲ Snow falls easily off a spruce’s cones and thin needles. Like all evergreens, the spruce keeps its needles year round. That allows it to use the sun’s energy to make its own food (photosynthesize) after spring thaw.
Some microbes (very tiny organisms, or living things) have adapted to environments where nothing else could possibly survive. Scientists call these tiny creatures extremophiles, which means that they live in extreme conditions. Some prefer very cold environments. Others grow in places that are very hot – even in boiling water! This photo shows a colony (group) of extremophile microbes that live in hot springs in Yellowstone National Park.
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