The Arctic:
The Arctic is a very cold, windy, and often snowy biome located around the North Pole. When referring to the Arctic, people usually mean the part of the earth within the Arctic Circle (an imaginary circle around the Earth, parallel to the Equator and 23 degrees 28 minutes from the North Pole, that is, above about 75 degrees North Latitude). Although there is no land at the North Pole, the icy Arctic Ocean is teeming with life ranging from the microscopic.
Arctic Animals:
Animals that live in the Arctic (either full time or seasonally) are adapted to extreme conditions. Many animals who overwinter in the Arctic (like the Arctic fox and the ermine) have a coat that thickens and changes color to white during the winter as camouflage in the snow (blending into the background is called cryptic coloration). Some animals hibernate during the cold season; they go into a very deep, sleep-like state in which their heartbeat slows down. These animals often hibernate in an underground burrow or pit. Some hibernators include skunks, chipmunks, and some bears (but these bears are not true hibernators, they go into a state that is closer to a normal deep sleep).
