INTRODUCTION The Arctic is among the coldest, windiest and most remote places on the planet. A vast area of frozen ice floating on the Arctic Ocean.

Polar bears are slow but very strong swimmers, able to keep swimming for a long time. They have small rounded ears that loses little body heat and white fur that turns a little yellow. Under the fur, a thick layer of blubber performs 2 roles- insulating against the cold and acting as a food store to help the bear survive hard times.

LOONS Loons such as this black-throated arctic loon, are sometimes called divers and they swim underwater after their prey. Loon comes from the Icelandic word ‘lomr’ meaning lame or clumsy. They are clumsy on land. SANDHILL CRANES Sandhill cranes breed mostly in the remote Arctic, laying their eggs in mounds of grass or other plants in an undisturbed marsh. DOVEKIES Over 100 million dovekies breed along Arctic coasts each summer. They have a thick layer of fat under their skin to keep them warm.

TUNDRA/NOTHERN FLEABANE - The tundra is a broad zone of low- growing vegetation lying immediately south of the Arctic Ocean across northern Eurasia and North America. NORTHERN PRIMROSE This plant grows low to the ground to stay out of the wind wind. Long roots obtain nitrogen and water in dry, harsh conditions. The root system anchors the plant firmly.

Seals Seals are probably the hardiest of all the Arctic mammals. The ringed seal of the Arctic survives below the ice during the dark winter months. Whales The polar seas are home to a whole range of whales. The gray,humpback, fin and blue whales are summer residents, making good use of a rich supply of plankton. When the winter comes, most of the whales migrate to warmer waters.

Inuit, Inupiat and Yupik people [Eskimos] are the original inhabitants of the Arctic tundra of N.Canada, Alaska, Russia, and Greenland. They were nomadic[traveling] hunter-gatherers. They lived near the coast in the summer, building up food reserves for the winter. The rest of the year they travelled, hunting caribou, seals, polar bears and whales. They used every part of the animal for food, shelter, clothing, weapons, and tools. Starvation and death by exposure were constant threats.

From the 15 th Century several countries wanted to explore and expand in the Arctic. Early explorers suffered greatly because they didn’t know how to stay warm and dry in harsh conditions. The freezing power of the icy winds was largely ignored. Frostbite was common and many men died from exposure. Modern polar explorers know the advantages of layer dressing. Modern fabrics such as Polypropylene take moisture away from the body, preventing heat loss caused by sweat evaporation.