Wildlife
Cold tolerant
Cold tolerant organisms have evolved various methods for coping with very low temperatures. Some animals hibernate, take shelter, or even migrate to warmer areas. Others, such as Antarctic seals, have warm fur and a thick layer of blubber for insulation. Arctic plants tend to be small and grow low to the ground and can be coated with hair and wax to avoid wind chill. Some insects, amphibians and microbes can even withstand being frozen solid.
Watch video clips from past programmes (24 clips)
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Frozen turtles
Life in Cold Blood
Painted turtles have a natural anti-freeze that helps them survive winter.
Painted turtles have a natural anti-freeze that helps them survive winter.
Small but tough
The Private Life of Plants
In the Arctic summer, meltwater from glaciers provides enough water for plants to grow.
In the Arctic summer, meltwater from glaciers provides enough water for plants to grow.
Arctic plants
The Private Life of Plants
Plants struggle to survive in the freezing polar regions.
Plants struggle to survive in the freezing polar regions.
Penguin wrappers
Living Planet
Penguins evolved in the tropics, but most have adapted to cold climates.
Penguins evolved in the tropics, but most have adapted to cold climates.
Moss menagerie
Living Planet
A minute colony survives the freezing cold of the South Orkney Islands.
A minute colony survives the freezing cold of the South Orkney Islands.
Plants with this adaptation
Arctic poppy 
Conifers 
Great Basin bristlecone pine 
Snowdon lily 
Whitebark pine Animals with this behaviour
Mammals
Arctic fox
Baikal seal
Crabeater seal
Eurasian lynx
Leopard seal
Polar bear
Pusa seals
Ringed seal
Snow leopard
Tiger
Walrus
Weddell seal
Wolverine
American bison
Argali sheep
Bactrian camel
Bharal
Dall sheep
Irish elk
Musk ox
Pronghorn antelope
Reindeer
Saiga
Mountain hare
Plateau pika
Woolly rhinoceros
Yunnan snub-nosed monkey
American mastodon
Columbian mammoth
Mammoths
Woolly mammoth
Arctic ground squirrel
Himalayan marmot
Lemmings
Bowhead whale
Birds
Adelie penguin
Chinstrap penguin
Emperor penguin
Gentoo penguin
King penguin
Macaroni penguin
Bar-headed goose
Ptarmigan
Snowy owl
Andean hillstar
Snow petrel
Reptiles
LeaellynasauraAmphibians
Siberian salamanderArachnids
Himalayan jumping spiderBehaviours
Other Adapted to extremes behaviours
- Altitude tolerant
- Chemical tolerant
- Cold tolerant
- Dry tolerant
- Fire tolerant
- Heat tolerant
BBC News about Cold tolerant
- Mammoths had 'anti-freeze blood', gene study finds Mammoths had a form of "anti-freeze" blood to keep their bodies supplied with oxygen at freezing temperatures.
Video collections
Take a trip through the natural world with our themed collections of video clips from the natural history archive.
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Timelapse photography: speeding up life
Some of the most memorable sequences in natural history result from timelapse photography, an astonishing filming technique that opens our eyes to a whole new world.
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Attenborough's frozen planet
Frozen Planet is Sir David Attenborough's latest exploration into the remote and isolated polar environments.
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Nature's record breakers
Animal kingdom record breakers - how fast can a cheetah run, how heavy is an elephant and what's bigger than a dinosaur? Watch amazing video clips from the BBC archive and uncover the fascinating facts about our smallest primate, the longest stick insect and the most venomous snake.
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David Attenborough's Madagascar
Like nowhere else on Earth, the mystery and magic of Madagascar leaves a vivid impression on all those who visit, and none more so than David Attenborough.
Elsewhere on the web
- Cold tolerant bacteria (serc.carleton.edu)
- Arctic wildlife information (saskschools.ca)
- Psychrophile (wikipedia.org)
bbc.co.uk navigation
BBC links
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