Adaptation In Polar Regions Video Lecture | Science for Grade 6

oh hey guys we're just cooling off here
reading about some cool polar animals
but have you ever wondered how animals
can live in super cold places all the
time
animals like beluga whales harp seals
emperor penguins and polar bears they
certainly don't wear sweaters but
they're perfectly comfortable where they
live these animals are warm-blooded that
means their bodies stay the same
temperature on the inside no matter how
hot or cold it is outside humans are
warm-blooded - and so are rats but not
squeaks if you've ever had your
temperature taken then you know how the
doctor uses a thermometer to take the
temperature of your body inside it's
usually right around 37 degrees Celsius
well whales that live in cold waters
need to have the same internal
temperature as warm-blooded animals in
any other part of the world for about 35
to 42 degrees Celsius but the cold water
means they can lose heat really fast and
whales can't snuggle up into a ball find
shelter or put on an extra sweater like
we camp so how do we all stay warm
blubber and not just whales seals and
walruses have it - blubber is a really
thick layer fat between an animal's skin
and its muscles whales are almost
totally covered in it except for their
fins their flippers and their flukes
also known as the whale's tail and
blubber is really special it's not like
the fat on humans and other animals
first of all blubber is a lot thicker
than fact in dolphins it can be just a
few centimeters thick but some kinds of
whales known as bowhead whales can have
a layer of blubber that's more than 30
centimeters thick whoa that's a whole
lot of love blubber also feels different
it's more firm and springy than other
fat finally blubber is different because
it just serves a different purpose than
other fat for people fat is a way to
store extra energy that we get from food
but for whales and walruses blubber is
like putting on a super thick winter
coat it traps their body heat inside
their bodies and keeps it from spreading
out into the cold water with their
special blubbery coat whales can stay
perfectly cozy and water that's 2
degrees below zero that's below freezing
ok blubber is awesome but what about
other animals that live in cold climates
they don't have blubber what about polar
bears polar bears have fat that's pretty
similar to human fat so it's not that
useful for helping them stay warm
instead polar bears have to
kinds of fur a super thick inner layer
and an oily outside layer called guard
hair
the inner layer fur traps their body
heat as it leaves their skin and the
longer guard hair keeps the inside layer
totally dry when they swim in the water
together these special fur layers keep
the polar bear nice and warm but this
next animal doesn't have blubber or for
emperor penguins have a different cool
trick to stay warm they use each other
during the coldest months in Antarctica
penguins huddle together to trap warm
air between their bodies instead of
standing alone and being totally exposed
to the cold wind the penguins squished
together so they're surrounded by the
body heat of other penguin of course
it's not so nice for the Penguins on the
outside of the circle but the huddle is
always moving the cold penguins on the
outside get to move to the center while
the warm pan wins in the middle move out
to take their turn on the edge we need
to share penguins animals have some
pretty cool ways to deal with the cold
but since I don't have blubber thick fur
or other penguins to snuggle with I'm
thankful for the fort my sweaters and my
blankets what are you thankful for if
you'd like to let us know or if you have
a question you can leave a comment below
or email us at kids at the sideshow Kong
see you later