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antarctic Animals

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There are different types of animals that have adapted to Antarctica .

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Seals

The seals in Antarctica are Weddell seals, Crabeater seals, Leopard seals and Elephant seals. There is also albatrosses, krill,whales and more. They all can survive the extreme cold.

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Adapting to the cold

Antarctic animals live in the coldest environment on earth. Animals survive these harsh conditions by reducing the percentage of body heat that is lost by the environment. 

This could be physical changes or changes of behavior.

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Huddles

Emperor penguins have a unique behaviour. These are adaptions that help them survive the harsh winters. Emperor penguins form large huddles. This shares body warmth and also shelters from the affects of the wind. Huddling reduces heat loss by 50 %. They swap around so different penguins take turns on the outside of the huddle.

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Coats

Lots of the Antarctic animals have either windproof or waterproof layers. Emperor penguin are a good example of this. These penguins have four layers of scale-like feathers. These layers overlap each other forming good protection from the wind and blizzard conditions.

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