❄️ Snow and ice animals
The coldest places on Earth are the far north (the Arctic), the far south (Antarctica) and the tops of high mountains. Animals there keep warm with thick fur, feathers or fat, and many have white coats that hide them in the snow. Polar bears live in the Arctic and penguins in the south, so they never meet.
The biggest and the smallest here: the beluga whale and the wood frog
11 animals here
- Emperor penguin
- Gray wolf
- Polar bear
- Arctic fox
- Walrus
- Reindeer (caribou)
- Narwhal
- Moose
- Wood frog
- Beluga whale
- Musk ox
Emperor penguin
Gray wolf
Polar bear
Arctic fox
Walrus
Reindeer (caribou)
Narwhal
Moose
Wood frog
Beluga whale
Musk oxRecord holders here
- Fastest: the gray wolf, 35 mph56 km/h1
- Heaviest: the walrus, 1.9 tons1.7 tonnes2
- Lives longest: the beluga whale, 90 years90 years3
Snow and ice animals for kids, A to Z
- 🦊 Arctic fox: An Arctic fox turns from brown to white when winter comes.
- 🐋 Beluga whale: The white whale nicknamed the canary of the sea for its chirps.
- 🐧 Emperor penguin: The biggest penguin, and the dad keeps the egg warm on his feet.
- 🐺 Gray wolf: A wild cousin of the dog that lives and travels in a pack.
- 🦌 Moose: The biggest deer in the world, and a surprisingly good swimmer.
- 🦬 Musk ox: A shaggy Arctic animal with hair that nearly reaches the ground.
- 🐋 Narwhal: A narwhal's long twisty tusk is really a tooth, not a horn.
- 🐻❄️ Polar bear: The biggest bear, at home on the frozen Arctic sea ice.
- 🦌 Reindeer (caribou): Both male and female reindeer grow antlers, which they shed each year.
- 🦭 Walrus: A walrus uses its tusks like ice picks to climb onto the ice.
- 🐸 Wood frog: It can freeze in winter, then thaw out and hop away in spring.
- National Park Service, Yellowstone (wolf facts), checked 30 October 2026.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, checked 30 October 2026.
- NOAA Fisheries, checked 30 October 2026.