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Antarctica: Antarctica
is a continent that surrounds the South Pole. It is the coldest
region of the world. Antarctica is covered by an icecap formed by
the compiling of packed snow and ice. The warmest it ever gets in
Antarctica is 32ºF. (0° C). Most of the animals of this region
live in its surrounding ocean. |
Birds of Antarctica: There
are more that 40 kinds of flying birds that
spend their summer in Antarctica. They nest on land and spend their
time diving for their food. The Albatross, Gulls, Skuas, and Terns
are some of the birds you will find there. Penguins (see below) are
non-flying birds that live in Antarctica. |
Insects: There are only a few
insects and animals that actually live on the mainland. Most animals
live on the edge and in the water surrounding the continent. The wingless
midge , a type of fly, is the continent's largest insect. (That
actually lives on land, there are sea animals and birds-Penquins. It
is only 1/2 inch or 12 millimeters long! Lice, mites and ticks live
in the fur or feathers of animals to avoid freezing to death. |
Krill: This is the most common
animal of the ocean. It is small and looks like a shrimp.
Krill is an important food source for the Antarctic animals, such as
whales, seals and penguins. |
| Penguins: Penguins are the
animals most people think of when they think of Antarctica. They are
birds, but they cannot fly. They are excellent swimmers and
divers.
Adelie Penguins: Macaroni Penguins: Rockhopper Penguins: Rockhoppers are the smallest of the crested penguins. They can be distinguished by the shape of their crests; they have a thin yellow stripe that starts just behind the beak and runs toward the back of the head for a few cm before developing into a large drooping crest. Chicks have gray black backs and white fronts.
Chinstrap penguins are white on the front and throat, but have a black back. Chinstraps are easily distinguished by the thin black stripe across the bottom of the throat - the infamous chinstrap. Chicks have gray backs and white fronts. Check out more information on Penguins at: penguins |
Seals: There
are a variety of seals that live in the Antarctic. They live mostly
in water. They nest on the coasts or on nearby islands.
The largest seal in the world is the Elephant
seal. This seal feeds on squid and other fish. Other
seals are the Weddell and Ross Seals, they also
eat squid 
and fish. Crabeater seals and
Antarctic Fur Seals eat
krill. Leopard Seals hunt penguins.
These animals are protected by the international wildlife laws. |
Whales: There are many
types of whales that live in the Antarctic during the summer. They
are the blue whale, fin whale, humpback whale, minke whale and right
whale. These whales feed on krill and small fish. The blue
whale is the largest and grows up to 100 feet (30 meters) long.
. |
Suggested Book List:
 | The Penguins are Coming, R L Penney, Worlds
Work Ltd. (1970)
| The Penguin Family Book, L Sømme & S
Kallas, North South Books (1988)
| The Pirate Penguin, Young World Productions
(1972)
| The Penguin and the Vacuum Cleaner, C Sloane,
Puffin Books (1974)
| Cinderella Penguin, J Perlman, Kids Can
Press Ltd (1992)
| Fred's Pyramid, S Moskowitz, Simon and
Schuster (1982)
| I Love Ten Little Penguins: A Pop-up Counting Book,
Jane Walker , Bantam Doubleday Dell/Transworld Publ. (1994).
| Tacky the Penguin Helen Lester; illus. by
Lynn Munsinger Houghton Mifflin(1988). | Penguins, Wolfgang Kaehler, Chronicle Books
(1989)
| Wildlife and Wilderness, K Shackleton, Clive
Holloway Books (1986)
| Penguins, Mitsuaki Iwago, Chronicle Books, USA
(1997) | |
Buy these books at a discount at Barnes and Noble Kids! books
These
penguins are the most common. They build their nests along the coast
of Antarctica and are very playful.
Emperor Penguins:
These large penguins ( up to 4 feet(1.2 meters) )
are a quiet specie. The female lays her egg on the ice and the male
rests the egg on his feet and keeps the egg warm. The female then
gets the food for her young. They are one of the two species that
are strictly Antarctic. Emperors are the only birds that never set foot on
dry land. 
King Penguins: King Penguins are found on sub - Antarctic islands
all around the Southern Ocean. King penguins are kept in many Zoos around
the world.
Macaroni penguins could only be confused with Royal penguins.
Macaronis and Royals are the largest of the crested penguins and both have
orange, yellow, and black crests that join on the top of the head. The
Royals usually have white chins while Macaroni penguins have black chins.
Chinstrap
Penguin:
