TUNDRA

SNOWY OWL

• The snowy owl often feeds on rodents or small rabbits.
• Snowy owls will build there nests on the ground but on high ground in order to see there predators and prey.
• Adult snowy owls half a wingspan from 4.5 to 5.5ft. They can be 1.75 to 2ft in height.
• Snowy owls can turn there head 270 degrees in both directions.
• The Snowy owl's mating season is throughout the summer and a female can lay between 2-14eggs.

MUSK OXEN

• Musk Oxen are vegetarians. they will eat most of the vegetation that the tundra has to offer.
• Musk oxen live in herds which will stay in one range of mountains that has resources good for them.
• Musk Oxen are large beast whose lengths can vary from 6 - 7.5ft. They can weigh between 400 and 900lbs.
• The Musk Oxen have a thick and long outer layer of fur for the coldness of the Tundra but also have a wool like inner layer of fur.
• The rut or mating season of the Oxen begins late in the summer and ends in early to mid autumn.

ARCTIC HARE

• The arctic hare eats many different types of vegetation ,from buds to berries it eats almost everything the tundra has to offer.
• Arctic hares will often dig holes in the snow to escape the frigid tundra temperatures.
• The average length of the hares is from 20 to 26". There weight will usually be between 6 and 15 lbs.
• Arctic hares have an all white fur coat in the winter but it turns to a blueish-gray or a brown-gray in the summer.
• Arctic hares will mate in early summer and the female will give birth in June maybe early July .

PTARMIGAN

• Ptarmigans will feed on vegetation and also some insects
• The Ptarmigan can be found in the rocky and sloped areas of the tundra. Females and chicks might stay near bushes and weeds for protection.
• Ptarmigans can measure between 12 and 16" in length.
• The Ptarmigan will molt several times a year and will change color each time
• The female ptarmigan will lay 6 to 12 eggs and will incubate them for about 3 weeks.

ARCTIC FOX

• Arctic Foxes will feed on small mammals and sometimes leftovers of carcasses. They will also eat some kinds of berries.
• The Arctic Fox will make dens in river banks and hillsides that will often have many entrances and exits.
• The Arctic fox measures between 3 and 3.5ft, it wieghs between 6 and 9lbs.
• Arctic foxes have had many adaptions and one of them is a really bushy tail to wrap around themselves to stay warm.
• The foxes mating season occurs in the spring and the female will give birth to a litter of 6-8 kits

ARCTIC MOSS

• Calliergum giganteum or arctic moss is found at the bottom of most of the tundras lakes and ponds.
• The arctic moss grows very slowly. It grows about 1cm a year but lives very long.
• It is the slowest growing longest living freshwater microbyte ever recorded.
• It's long life and slow growth are adaptions the moss has made to survive the short growing season.
• The moss is very important for the tundra's Eco system because it is eaten by migrating birds and other native species.

ARCTIC WILLOWS

• The Salic arctica is 15-20cm high and has many branches that grow horizontally and roots to the surface that it first touches.
• The leaves are over shaped with a pointed tip, there are dark green on the bottom and are a lighter green on top.
• The arctic willow blooms in the spring and has flowers that are 5 cm long and are a sparkling pink in color.
• The arctic willow has made many adaptions, some include, making a pesticide that protects it from the insect the arctic wooly bear. It has also adapted by growing its roots shallower into the ground to escape permafrost.
• The arctic willow is plentiful in the tundra but is very delicate, there are many herbivorous insects in the tundra that feast on arctic willows.

BEARBERRY

• The Bearberry is a low growing evergreen with a short stem that measures between 2 and 8" of the ground.
• It has a barky stem covered in silky hairs, it also is covered in oval shaped leaves.
• It's flowers have 5 pedals which are pink and white in color. The pedals curve inward towards the center, they blossom between March and July.
• The berry gets its name from getting feasted on constantly by bears.
• The bearberry is often found in non-nutrient soils such as sand and rock outcrops.

CARIBOU MOSS

• The moss grows in the arctic and northern regions of the world.
• It thrives by living on the ground and on rocks.
• It is a gray/green spongy mass that grows to be between 1and 4" high.
• Although it is called moss it is actually a lichen, a lichen is a fungus and an algae working together to survive. This is called symbiotic relationship.
• Lichens can survive in very dry and cold climates because all that happens is they dry out and become hard. When they get wet they soften.

LABRADOR TEA

• Labrador tea can grow up to be between 4-5ft long.
• It will grow vertically In the southern latitudes of the tundra, but in the norther and colder parts of the tundra it will grow to be a big growing carpet.
• It has leathery green leaves that bend down at the edges. The top of the leaves are smooth but the bottoms are rough and a little fury.
• It is called "tea" because Native Americans made tea with the leaves.
• Native Americans would put them all over there clothes to keep moths and mice away.

LANDSCAPE

• The tundra is limited in forms of vegetation and growing seasons but does have plenty of life.
• The tundra has a flat landscape with some scattered hills

WEATHER

• The tundras average weather in the winter is around -10 degrees and I'm the summer it is around 40 degrees.

FUN FACTS

• The tundra has about 400 different kinds of flowers
• He tundra has a very low amount of fish species it only has 4 known kinds, salmon, trout, flatfish, and cod.
• The tundras main carnivorous animals are arctic foxes, polar bears, and wolves.
• The tundras known herbivorous mammals are moles, voles, lemmings, squirrels, arctic hares, and caribou
• The tundra is the coldest of all biomes because of its distance from the equator, and it flatness. The flatness effects it because the harsh winds can flow right through.