why do polar bears live in the north pole and penguins in the south pole?

Question

needed for childs homework

Answer 1

This is actually quite an interesting question.

Polar bears are descended from continental bears that lived further south, over time they evolved their white coats and other characteristic to live on the sea ice. Bears can live in the arctic because the arctic has a lot of seasonal ice. the bears can go out on the ice, which isnt very thick, and capture seals that come to the surface to breath. Because the Antarctic is not connected to the continents, there was no way for ancient bears to migrate there.

Penguins can live in antarctica for exactly the opposite reason. There are no bears! And no foxes or other land predators. None of the ancient ancestors of todays land mammals could get there. So penguins were able to swim there, and set up their colonies.... maybe they flew and afterwards evolved to have no wings - or rather, to have wings that were too small to allow them to fly. They don't need to fly because there are no predators to catch them. In the Arctic there are birds very similar to penguins (different bird family) same kind of coloring, same ability to swim, but the Arctic birds have not lost their ability to fly.... if they had, they would have been wiped out - the arctic bears and foxes would have gotten them.

Answer 2

The North Pole is in the Arctic, the South Pole is in Antarctica. Penguins are only found in the Southern Hemisphere (so Antarctica included), Polar bears only in the Northern (so the Arctic included). Eskimos are found in the North. I would assume that penguins could live in the Arctic and vice versa for polar bears. There are a few fundamental differences between the Arctic and Antarctica. : The Arctic is just frozen sea, it is effectively one huge iceberg. : Antarctica is a continent, it has land underneath all the snow and ice.

Answer 3

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Arctic = North, Antarctic = south. Bears are a northern hemisphere animal for the most part, and polar bears live in the north. Penguins are a southern hemisphere bird, and are found (among other places) on Antarctica. The geographic north pole is covered by sea ice - there is no land underneath it. Antarctica, on the other hand, is a continent, and the geographic south pole is on land.

Answer 4

Penguins And Polar Bears

Answer 5

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
why do polar bears live in the north pole and penguins in the south pole?
needed for childs homework

Answer 6

www.bluemoon.net/~opus/nframe/penguin.html

Penguins do live in the arctic as well

Answer 7

That's where they were born, and they have no reason to change.

Answer 8

Strange question - it is where they developed. Not like they took a plane and said - I want to be here.

Answer 9

Humans are the only animals at the South Pole itself. There are a variety of other animals such as penguins and seals on the coast of Antarctica and in the surrounding waters. See this map for an idea of what animals are found where in Antarctica and the surrounding ocean.
There are no polar bears at the South Pole. Polar Bears live at the North Pole, and penguins live at the South Pole.
Humans bring in the only plants at the South Pole itself. There are a variety of other plants such as moss and lichen nearer to the coast of Antarctica.

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Index:
Questions about penguins and polar bears and other Antarctic animals
Questions about plants
Questions about insects
General questions

Questions about penguins and polar bears
Question submitted by Sandra Farley's High School class at Community School South, East Palo, Alto, California.
NO!! Are there any polar bears in Antarctica?
No, these animals live in the Arctic region near the North Pole.


Question from Ms. Keyes' class, Nassau/Spackenkill Elementary School, Poughkeepsie, NY Are there any penguins, whales, or walruses at the South Pole?
No, there are no living animals besides us people at the South Pole. It is too cold and there is no food for them. The South Pole is near the center of the Antarctic continent. However, at the edge of the continent where the land meets the sea, there are a lot of living things. And, yes, there are lots of penquins and seals that go in the water. There are also lots of sea birds too. We see them when we stop near the shore while traveling to and from the South Pole.



Question from Marie Martin's 1st graders, Freeport, New York We wonder if you ran into any penguins on your trip. We're learning about them now in First Grade.
Randy says: Yes I did run into penguins but not at the Pole! After my travels to Antarctica I traveled some in New Zealand. In the north island (remember NZ is in the southern hemisphere, so north is means closer to the equator and warmer) while sailing off the coast between Auckland and the Bay of Islands I saw numerous penguins. I was very surprised at first. There are many penguins in Antarctica, I just was not in the areas where they are found, although I was close while at McMurdo.



Question from Elieen, age 8, Northeast Elementary, Rutland, VT. Did you see any penguins?
Randy says: Yes I did see penguins, but not at the Pole. Penguins live mostly in the water and so are most likely seen on the coast. The South Pole is very far inland and very high up. Much to my surprise the only penguins I encountered during my travels were in New Zealand in the warm austral summer weather of the north island.



Question from Mrs Gladstone's class, Nelson, New Zealand. Why do Polar bears only live at the north and penguins in the south pole?
Actually neither penguins or polar bears live at the South Pole. It is too cold, too, high and too far inland to support any life. At the coast of Antarctica there is a variety of life, including penguins and orcas.
The most probable reason that the North Pole has larger species and a greater variety of life is because it is much warmer than the South Pole. The reason the North is warmer than the South is that the North Pole is in the middle of a body of water while the South Pole is in the middle of a large continent, and water tends to moderate temperature.




Question from Mrs Arfuso's class at West Leederville Primary School, West Leederville, Perth, Western Australia. Question from Mrs Gladstone's class, Nelson, New Zealand. Are the fish in the Antarctic waters able to be eaten or are they poisonous?
This is an interesting question!
Certainly the seals and penguins and whales that live there eat the fish in the ocean surrounding Antarctica, so since there are mammals that eat the fish and don't die, my suspicion is that they are not poisonous for humans either.

According to what I found this morning, in the Ross Sea, which is very far south near Antarctica, there are 35 species of fish, most of them are bottom-dwellers. In Antarctic waters less far south, there are probably more species not only because there are more different types of food but also because fish need a special set of adaptations to survive in Antarctic waters, including adaptations that prevent formation of ice crystals in their blood and bodies. But I don't think that makes them poisonous.

Since I'm an astronomer, not a biologist, I mailed a biologist to ask to be sure. He writes:

I orginally wondered if the antifreeze that these fishes have in them to keep them from freezing is toxic because the antifreeze in our cars is toxic. But then I realized that this antifreeze is VERY different; it is a glycoprotein (a protein with sugar attached) and is not toxic. I have eaten one of the fish: Dissostichus mawsoni. It was quite tasty and I didn't get poisoned. As you say, the mammals and penguins eat many of the fishes in Antarctic waters and since their cell biology is much like ours it is unlikely that the fish they eat are poisonous to us. To more directly answer your question, I don't know of any toxic fish in Antarctic waters. However all that is known about many of the fishes is their name and what they look like. In fact new fishes are still being discovered there. It is possible that there are toxic fishes there but I don't know of any. If I find out otherwise, I'll let you know. However I do know that some of the sponges in the Antarctic waters are toxic.
I myself have heard that sponges in the rest of the world's oceans can be toxic too, so I don't think that that is particularly unique to the Antarctic waters.




Questions about plants
Question from Judy Moloney's second grade class at Sheridan School, Lake Forest, Il What kinds of plants do you find in Antarctica?
Some areas have algae and moss.

According to this page from the Norweigian Polar Institute,

The vegetation on the Antarctic continent consists mainly of algae, lichen and mosses. Around 300 species of algae have been observed. Of these, approximately 20 is found living on or in ice and snow. Other algae species thrive best in areas that are fertilised by penguins and seabirds, near the coasts. In addition to the algae, around 200 lichen species, 85 moss species and 25 liverwort species have been observed in Antarctica. Two flowering plants (Deschampsia antarctica and Colobanthus quitensis) have been registered in the northern coastal areas.

Questions about insects
Question from Mrs. Gerry's 2nd grade class, Bannes School, Tinley Park, IL.: Are there any insects in the South Pole? If so, what kinds?
Question from Ms. Merker's 3rd grade class, New York: We want to find out if there are bees in Antarctica. We are studying bees and want to know which continents have bees. Please email us with your reply and we will put you on our classroom map.
There isn't any native form of life at the Pole. There is a wingless midge that can survive within a few hundred miles of the Pole.
In fact the absence of other life forms makes one appreciate things that are often taken for granted. Once a bumble bee arrived with the fresh produce shipment "freshies", that arrived from New Zealand. The entire South Pole station became engrossed in the fate of the bee. Also when researchers return to Christ Church after being on the ice for some time they often go straight towards the beautiful botanical gardens, to see and smell the flora and fauna.

(Penguins and whales and seals and things live on the coast of Antarctica, a long way from the Pole!)



General questions
Question submitted by Connie Miller's eighth grade classes at Eisenhower Junior High School in Lawton Oklahoma. What keeps the animals from freezing?
Large animals, such as penguins, seals and whales, have a thick layer of fat called blubber under their skins. This fat layer acts as an insulator to keep theses animals warm. Fish, such as the naked dragon and the Antarctic cod, survive in the cold waters of Antarctica because of a special substance inside their blood called glycopeptide. This substance acts much like antifreeze. Antifreeze added to the water in a car's radiator keeps the water from turning to ice just as glycopeptide keeps the blood of these Antarctic fish from freezing.


Question from Lacey Russel at Bear Branch Elementary School, Magnolia, TX. Do animals that die in Antarctica rot?
Antarctic animals live along the coast of the continent. In some areas, such as the Antarctic penusula, the temperatures get above freezing. Most likely other animals would eat the dead carcass, but if not eaten it could rot in the warm summer temperatures. In colder areas of the continent where the temperatures do not get above freezing, carcasses of seals have been found in the ice that are hundreds of years old.


Question from Mrs. Kotowske's 2nd grade class at Sheridan Elementary School, Lake Forest, IL Do you use dog sleds?
Dogs are no longer allowed on the continent. There is a concern that seals and other mammals will get rabies (and other diseases) from dogs, so they are banned from the continent.


Question from Lauren Russel at Bear Branch Elementary School, Magnolia, TX. How do scientists study animals in Antarctica?
CARA scientists study astronomy at the South Pole (where there aren't any animals except for humans), but we dug around to try to find the answer to this question anyway. It seems that most of the time, they attach transmitters or actual cameras to the animals, and track the animals for as long as they can, until the transmitter falls off. Sometimes, scientists dive into the water to be with the animals in their own world -- scientists who study emporer penguins have to be in a cage (like you might have seen in shark programs), not for protection from sharks but from seals.(!) Here is an article highlighting some of the research in Antarctica, including information about the studies of Emporer penguins.
Janice says: I spoke with Pam Yochem, a scientist from Hubbs-Sea World Research in San Diego, California about her studies of Weddell seal pups. Ms. Yochem is part of a 4-person team under the direction of Tom Gelatt from the University of Minnesota. Others on the team are Sharon Melin from the Univeristy of Minnesota and Brent Stewart from Hubbs Sea World in San Diego. The objective of this study is to find out more about the weddell seal pups. Little is know where these young seals spend the first year of their lives. After they are weaned they are not seen on land or in the water. To determine the movement of the pups, quick setting marine epoxy is used to glue satellite receivers to the fur of the pups. Transmissions from the transmitters can be monitored from the United States. The battery in each transmitter lasts about a year and the hair of the pups sheds about this time. I hope to be in contact with Ms. Yochem about the results of this study. But don't expect results for at least 1 year.



Question from Gail Phillip's 5th Grade Class, Pine Street School, Bishop CA. Do any kind of whales live in the south pole? If they do, what kind?
Whales live in the ocean and the fartherest south that the ocean goes is around Ross Island. The south pole is about 885 miles from McMurdo on Ross Island. There are no animals at the south pole.


Question from Mrs. Grothaus' 6th grade class, Greenland School, Oconomowoc. I am doing a project on Antarctica in my 6th grade class and I was wondering if there was a web site somewhere where I could get some information about weather, animalife, plantlife, etc?
There are a multitude of sites with information on Antarctica, search the web with the key words Antarctica and weather, etc. Aside from what there is here, you should look at the NSF Office of Polar Programs and the Rice University Glacier site.