ARCTIC OCEAN GREENLAND

Siberian crane Polar bear Hooded seal Arctic fox Cormorant Ermine Walrus King eider Snowy owl Puffin Siberian Tundra reindeer Grizzly bearNORTH grouse Narwhal AMERICA Moose Pika Red fox Grey wolf EUROPE Pacific salmon Lynx Ibex Hare ASIA Beluga Muskdeer PACIFIC OCEAN Raccoon Golden Przewalski’s horse Bald eagle hamster Bactrian camel Bison Iberian lynx Japanese macaque Roseate spoonbill Dromedary Snow ATLANTIC OCEAN leopard Golden camel pheasant Roadrunner Alligator Nile crocodile Giant panda AFRICA

Ocellated turkey Lion Malayan tapir Quetzal Cobra Arabian oryx Nomura jellyfish Indian elephant Ostrich Ara macaw Giraffe PACIFIC OCEAN Mountain gorilla INDIAN OCEAN Marine iguana Cassowary Piranha Jaguar Tiger Spectacled bear Koala Hippopotamus a world Zebra SOUTH Mandarinfish Giant squid AMERICA of animals Frilled Llama Atlantic spotted dolphin Ring- Cheetah tailed We share our planet with about nine million lizard Grey kangaroo AUSTRALIA lemur other species of animal, from the tiniest Giant anteater creatures too small to see with the naked eye, Echidna Andean condor to huge elephants and whales. So far, scientists Cockatoo have discovered and named less than 15 per cent of these animals and many are dying out before Kakapo Southern right whale we can even make their acquaintance. In this book we will introduce you to more than 500 Tasmanian devil different species from every part of the world. Magellan’s SOUTHERN OCEAN penguin 6 7 Siberian crane SIBERIA the arctic Ermine Stoat and greenland THE ARCTIC Lizard A stoat in its white winter Only the hardiest animals can survive in the Arctic. coat is called an ermine. King eider In winter, temperatures can dip below −50°C The stoat has a brown and white coat in the (−58°F) and the sun is barely visible on the horizon, Whooper swan leaving the land in freezing twilight for months at The red dotted line summer, but look at the Siberian newt a time. As the autumn days draw in, many animals shows the Arctic ermine on the next page. SCANDINAVIA Do you recognize him in Greenland shark head south to warmer places. But others stay put Circle. Everything inside is known as his winter coat? and thrive by changing their bodies or behaviour Ptarmigan the Arctic. to cope with the cold. Some animals, like the polar bear, sleep through the winter, while others, such as the Arctic fox or snowy owl, turn white so they Harp seal can blend into the white winter landscape and avoid being eaten by predators. Caribou Fulmer Arctic octopus THE NORTH POLE There is no land under the North Pacific salmon (Chinook) Pole, just permanently frozen sea.

Red-faced Snow goose Whiskered auklet cormorant Lumpfish GREENLAND

Salmon hatch from their eggs in rivers then they head out to sea for several years. When they are ready to breed they return Bowhead whale Arctic fox Walrus upriver, often to the exact spot where they were born. Ribbon seal ALASKA Arctic wolf

Arctic tern King crab Snowy owl Many polar bears spend all their lives floating Wolf spider on sea ice. As the Arctic ice cap melts because CANADA of global warming, their homes are disappearing and they are in danger of dying out. Beluga Greenland cod

Polar bear Stellar sea lion Gyrfalcon Pika 8 9 Wolverines eat animals and plants. TUNDRA They can travel more than 25 km tundra and taiga TAIGA TAIGA (15 miles) a day in search of food. Wolverine The treeless Arctic tundra stretches all the way around the top of the world. The stark landscape is frozen for most of the year and only low-growing plants like heather, mosses and lichen can survive. With icy temperatures, fierce winds On this map the tundra is shown in and low rainfall, this is one of the harshest environments white and the taiga in dark orange. Red on the planet. Just below the tundra lies the world’s largest crossbill forest—the taiga. Most of the trees are hardy conifers, such as pines, firs and spruces, and many animals make their homes here. Steller’s sea eagle

Snow sheep Kronotsky volcano

Summer comes quickly on the tundra and lasts for just 50–60 days. Animals shed their winter Moose coats and plants burst into flower while the sun shines overhead for Kamchatka brown bears 24 hours a day. grow very large. They feast Snowshoe hare on berries, salmon and pine nuts, then sleep for six months through the winter. Ptarmigan Kamchatka brown bear Siberian moth Siberian tiger Siberian tigers are the largest cats in the world. They live in the taiga where they have room to roam undisturbed. Arctic ground squirrel Arctic bumblebee Squawk duck

Squawk ducks, also known as Baikal teals, Russian Arctic fox breed in the tundra and taiga of eastern Russia. They fly south for the winter. Salamander Kamchatka swallowtail Black-billed capercaillie 10 11 Hooded seal Speedy roadrunners live in the desert in the southern United States and Mexico. GREENLAND Roadrunner ATLANTIC OCEAN ATLANTIC Narwhal NORTH NORTH AMERICA Bald eagle Lynx More than 960 different species of mammal live in North America. Polar bear Raccoon Beaver Awesome grizzly bears live by themselves most of the year, except for mothers and their cubs. But in the autumn the grizzlies gather together on riverbanks to catch salmon as they run upriver to spawn. Virginia possum Grizzly bear HUDSON BAY HUDSON Red fox crane Pronghorn Whooping Fleet-footed pronghorns Fleet-footed pronghorns are among the fastest animals in North America. They have been clocked at 80 km (50 miles) per hour! GREAT LAKES GREAT Canada goose Alligator Beluga Luna moth Bison Caribou Roseate spoonbill Sage grouse Skunk Ocellated turkey Cougar Bighorn sheep Coyote Porcupine Walrus Moose Axolotl Rattlesnake Salmon (Sockeye) Gila monster lion ARCTIC OCEAN ARCTIC Killer whale North America is a vast place with every type North America is a vast place with every type of environment, from treeless tundra and tall mountains, to forests, prairies, lakes, rivers and deserts. Most of the best land has been taken for farming and many animals have been squeezed out of their homelands. There is still room for some wildlife, especially in remote areas of mountain and desert and in the far north. Some animals, such as bison and grey wolves, have been re-introduced in places where they once roamed freely and are now thriving again. north america jackrabbit Black-tailed California sea PACIFIC OCEAN PACIFIC 12 13 The vast grassy plains in the centre of North America are known as the prairies. The soil is rich the prairies and fertile and almost all the prairies have been turned into farmland. Agriculture has changed the Turkey buzzards environment, leaving it vulnerable to drought and NORTH erosion. Before the land was settled, millions of AMERICAN bison and other animals lived here. Now they are PRAIRIES mostly restricted to national parks and reserves. Prairie falcon

In spring, pronghorns gather in herds and migrate over long distances to summer pastures. They return to their winter lands in the autumn.

Bison are the largest land animals in North America. Pronghorn Coyote Rainbow Bison grasshopper

American badger

Burrowing owl Prairie dogs live in huge burrows, Black-footed ferrets called “towns,” which they dig under the prairies.

Swift fox White-tailed jackrabbit Black-footed ferrets were extinct in the wild until ecologists re-established them on the prairies.

Greater prairie chicken Meadowlark Great Plains rat snake

Monarch butterfly Prairie dogs

Box turtle

14 15 central and Ara macaw 16 CENTRAL AND SOUTH south america AMERICA Ara macaws are large parrots South America is dominated by the Andes, the with spectacular plumage. longest mountain chain on the planet, and the Amazon jungle, the world’s largest rainforest. Most of Central and South But it also has vast grasslands, known as pampas America lie in the tropics. and llanos, and the Earth’s driest place — the Atacama Desert. These varied landscapes provide homes for a huge variety of animals, including many that are not found anywhere else. Only Blue tang here will you find the world’s largest rodent — the capybara — and its laziest animal — the sloth. CARIBBEAN SEA

Quetzal

Caribbean fruit bat West Indian manatee

Three-toed sloth ATLANTIC OCEAN

Silky anteater Marine iguana Goliath bird- eating spider

GALAPAGOS Scarlet ibis ISLANDS Toucan Darwin’s Emerald finch Piranha tree boa

Galápagos penguin Spectacled bear Poison dart frog

Jaguar Golden lion tamarin Galápagos Alpaca tortoise Tapir

The Galápagos Islands lie almost 1,000 km (600 miles) off the coast of Ecuador. They are famous for the many unique animals that live there, Guanaco and because it was here that Charles Caiman Darwin was able to verify many of his ideas about evolution.

Vicuña Capybara

Andean condor

Rhea PACIFIC OCEAN

Giant squid

Southern right whale Patagonian mara Giant squid can grow to 13 metres (43 feet) long. They live far beneath the waves, in the ocean depths.

Pink fairy armadillo Southern right whales live in the world’s cool southern oceans. They have thick The llama and the FALKLAND ISLANDS layers of blubber beneath their skins to alpaca are now protect them from the icy waters. domestic animals, but their close cousins the Giant anteaters have long sticky tongues guanaco and the vicuña which they use to lap up more than still live in the wild. Magellan’s penguin 35,000 ants and termites every day. 17

Llama

SOUTHERN OCEAN Giant anteater