Emperor penguins are the largest type of penguin, standing up to four feet tall and weighing between 70 and 90 pounds. They are distinctive by their yellow, gray, and black markings of the upper body and wings. To maintain insulation and waterproofing, a gland near their tail secretes oil into the feathers. The penguins preen their feathers to spread the oil. They can swim up to fifteen kilometers an hour.

Habitat and Location

Emperor penguins enjoy residing in the coldest climate on Earth, all around the Antarctic continent. On the Antarctic ice, temperatures can drop as low as -140 degrees Fahrenheit.

Diet

The emperor penguin mainly feasts on fish, crustaceans, and cephalopods. In particular, they enjoy Antarctic silverfish.

Breeding Facts

Once emperor penguins are four years old, they are ready to mate. After mating, the female penguin lays one large egg. Immediately, the egg is rolled to the top of the male penguin’s feet. A thick fold of skin hanging from the belly of the male keeps the egg warm, while it rests on his feet. The males stay huddles in groups for up to nine weeks, while the females return to the open sea to feed. During this time, the males can lose half of their weight due to not eating.

After the egg hatches, the female emperor penguin returns to care for the chick. It is now the male’s turn to go to the open sea to feed and regain his weight. In a few weeks the male returns to help keep the chick warm and fed from food in his stomach. Once the chicks are seven weeks old, they huddle together for protection and warmth, but are still fed by their parents. At the beginning of summer season in the Antarctic, the chicks are fully grown –typically they are at six months old.

Emperor Penguin – Facts – Emperor Penguin Habits

The grizzly bear, also known as the silver-tip bear, has a distinctive shoulder hump of muscle, concave face, and famously long claws. The fur color of grizzly bears can range from a grayish color through yellow-brown to a dark brown or nearly black collaboration. Fur color relies on the habitat and climate.

Depending on the food supply, the size of grizzly bears varies. On average, males weigh 850 pounds and females weigh 450 pounds.

When a grizzly bear stands on its hind legs, the bear can reach seven feet. Despite the grizzly bear’s large size, it can reach speeds of 35 mph.

Habitat and Location

Grizzly bears used to live in western North America and the Great Plains. Today, they still reside in Canada and Alaska in the wild. In the United States, 1,000 grizzly bears remain protected by the law. Here they can mostly be found in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.

Diet

A grizzly bear diet can consist of both vegetation and animals, depending on what’s available. Grizzly bears will consume grasses, roots, berries, fish, small mammals, and large mammals. They have even been known to “dumpster dive,” which can lead to conflicts with humans.

Breeding Facts

Mating season for grizzly bears is between May and July. The males rely on smell and olfactory clues to find their females. During the search, they have been known to go without food for hours. Female grizzly bears do not become pregnant immediately, because the fertilized egg floats in the womb for several months, until the conditions for developing the fetus are right. The grizzly bear cubs are born blind and toothless in the middle of winter. The number of cubs born is reliant on the local food supply, but twins are most common.

The mother Grizzly bear is one of the most fierce defenders of her cubs, being known to kill animals twice her size in defense of them.

Grizzly Bears – United States Occupants – Silver-Tip Bear – World Of Nature

Musk Oxen are large and heavy, reaching 6 or 7 feet long in length and will have a height at the shoulder that may be as tall as 5 feet. They are very heavy bodied and full grown will weigh between 500 and 900 pounds.

They live in very cold areas and as compensation are covered in long wool that completely keeps them warm. The have an outer coat that is made of very long brown hairs, while the inner woolen coat, called qiviut was gathered by native peoples for use as spinning wool. The musk ox is well suited for life in the artic.

Males and females both have very large horns that meet in the center of their skull. The Males also grow an additoinal thing called a “boss” across their horns. The musk ox has a very strong and very musky scent that gives them their names.

Wikipedia CC Licensed Musk Ox Photo

Habitat and Location:

The Musk Ox is a tundra animal. It is found in more northern and cold locations. The Musk Ox can be found in Canada (The more northern parts) Greenland, Norway, Russian, Sweeden, Alaska. At one point the Musk Ox was extinct in Norway, Sweden and Russia, having been killed off completely but the Ox was successfullly introduced back into the wild there.

The Musk Ox is a herd animal that will roam the area in which it lives. The entire herd will range over a great area to gain access to food and water.

Diet: What They Eat:

The Musk Ox lives in a herd and will range with that herd well over the area in which they live. They will eat nearly any kind of vegetation that is available to them to eat. This includes the small shoots of trees, the lichens, tundra grasses, shrubs and any other vegetation that can be found. In winter they may paw their way through the snow to find grass.

Breeding Facts

Musk oxen undergo a male rutting season just as deer and elk do. They begin to rut in the late summer and early fall. The males will compete and do battle for possession of a harem. Only one male may mate with multiple females. The babies are born after about 8 months time. One female gives birth to just one baby every other year in the springtime.

Musk Ox-Endangered Tundra Animal – World Of Nature