In midwinter the Sun does not rise over much of the Arctic. Snow squeaks underfoot, and the sea is a lid of ice. Yet under that ice seals are breathing through holes they keep open, and on the tundra a fox is listening for lemmings moving under the snow.
Animals that live in the Arctic include polar bears, Arctic foxes, walruses, belugas, narwhals, ringed seals, caribou, muskoxen, Arctic hares, lemmings, snowy owls, Arctic terns and Arctic cod. Each survives with thick fur, feathers or blubber, and many depend on sea ice or on boom years of lemmings. Below is a mini-profile of each, with links to our full articles.
Key takeaways
- Sea and ice animals: polar bear, walrus, ringed seal, beluga, narwhal, Arctic cod.
- Tundra animals: Arctic fox, caribou, muskox, Arctic hare, lemmings, wolves.
- Birds: snowy owls breed on the tundra; Arctic terns fly to Antarctica and back each year.
- Shared threat: warming and loss of sea ice.
Which animals live in the Arctic? Quick list
| Animal | Type | Lives on | Eats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polar bear | Mammal | Sea ice | Seals |
| Arctic fox | Mammal | Tundra, sea ice | Lemmings, voles, birds, carrion |
| Walrus | Mammal | Sea ice, shallow seas | Clams, worms, snails |
| Ringed seal | Mammal | Sea ice | Cod-family fish, crustaceans |
| Beluga | Mammal | Arctic and subarctic seas | Fish, squid, crabs |
| Narwhal | Mammal | Arctic Ocean | Arctic cod, turbot, squid |
| Caribou | Mammal | Tundra | Lichens, sedges, willow |
| Muskox | Mammal | Tundra | Grasses, sedges, shrubs |
| Arctic hare | Mammal | Tundra | Willow |
| Lemming | Mammal | Tundra | Plants |
| Snowy owl | Bird | Tundra | Lemmings |
| Arctic tern | Bird | Coasts, tundra | Small fish, crustaceans |
| Arctic cod | Fish | Arctic seas | Copepods, small crustaceans |
To see how these animals connect, read the Arctic food web explained.
1. Polar bear
The polar bear is the Arctic’s top predator and lives on the sea ice, hunting ringed and bearded seals at breathing holes. It can eat more than 45 kg (100 lb) of blubber in one meal, and about 26,000 polar bears live worldwide (Polar Bears International). The IUCN lists it as Vulnerable, mainly because of sea-ice loss (Wiig et al. 2015).
Read more: polar bear adaptations, how big a polar bear is and do polar bears hibernate?
2. Arctic fox
The Arctic fox weighs 6–10 lb (about 2.7–4.5 kg) and turns white in winter. In summer it hunts lemmings and voles, and in winter many go onto the sea ice to eat leftovers of seals killed by polar bears (Alaska Department of Fish and Game). Read Arctic fox adaptations and how many Arctic foxes are left.
3. Walrus
Walruses are huge: adult males can weigh up to 2 tonnes and reach about 3.7 m (12 ft). Both sexes have ivory tusks, used to haul out onto ice, break breathing holes and fight, not to dig. They feed on clams, snails, worms and other seafloor animals and rest on sea ice between feeding trips (ADF&G). Read what walruses eat.
4. Ringed seal
Ringed seals are the polar bear’s main prey. Adults are about 1.2–1.4 m (4–4.5 ft) long and weigh 50–68 kg (110–150 lb). In winter they carve snow lairs over breathing holes, where females give birth. There are probably more than 2 million worldwide (NOAA Fisheries).
5. Beluga whale
Belugas are white whales of Arctic and subarctic seas, averaging about 1,430 kg (3,150 lb) and growing up to about 4.9 m (16 ft). They eat fish, octopus, squid, crabs and clams, and are hunted by killer whales and polar bears (NOAA Fisheries). Read how belugas use echolocation, what belugas look like and how much they weigh.
6. Narwhal
The narwhal is the whale with a “unicorn” tusk: a spiralling tooth, usually only in males, that can reach about 3 m (9.8 ft). Narwhals eat Arctic cod, turbot, squid and shrimp, diving to about 1,200 m (3,937 ft) for up to 25 minutes (NOAA Fisheries).
7. Caribou
Caribou (called reindeer in Europe) are the only deer in which both males and females grow antlers. Big herds may travel up to 640 km (400 mi) between summer and winter ranges, and their wide hooves work like snowshoes and paddles. In winter they eat lichens (ADF&G).
8. Muskox
Muskoxen are shaggy plant-eaters; bulls stand about 1.5 m (5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh 270–360 kg (600–800 lb). Their soft underwool, qiviut, has been called the rarest fibre in the world. Muskoxen vanished from Alaska by the 1920s and were brought back from Greenland in 1930 (ADF&G).
9. Arctic hare
Arctic hares weigh 3–5 kg (6.6–11 lb), turn white in winter and eat mainly willow, which makes up about 95% of their diet. They can run up to 64 km/h (40 mph) and sometimes gather in groups of 100 or more (ADW). Many predators hunt them, including Arctic foxes, wolves and snowy owls.
10. Lemming
Lemmings are small rodents that power the tundra food web. In northeast Greenland, collared lemmings are eaten by stoats, Arctic foxes, snowy owls and long-tailed skuas, and their numbers rise and crash in a roughly 4-year cycle driven by those predators (Gilg et al. 2003). And no, they do not jump off cliffs.
11. Snowy owl
The snowy owl is about 61 cm (24 in) long with a wingspan of about 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in). It breeds on open tundra and may feed almost entirely on lemmings, often skipping nesting when lemmings are scarce (Audubon). For other owls, see do owls eat rabbits?
12. Arctic tern
The Arctic tern has the longest known migration of any animal. Geolocator tracking by Egevang and colleagues showed that some terns travel more than 80,000 km (50,000 mi) a year between Arctic breeding grounds and the Southern Ocean (Egevang et al. 2010). Parents fiercely dive at intruders near their nests (Audubon).
Picture it
80,000 km is about twice around the Earth at the equator (about 40,000 km). A tern that lives 30 years could fly the distance to the Moon and back about three times.*
*Our calculation: 80,000 km × 30 = 2.4 million km; the Moon is about 384,000 km away, so a round trip is about 768,000 km. 2,400,000 ÷ 768,000 ≈ 3. The 30-year lifespan is only an example.
13. Arctic cod
Arctic cod is a small fish with a big job. It feeds on tiny crustaceans and is food for seabirds, ringed seals, narwhals, belugas and other fish. NOAA scientists say it may be the Arctic fish most vulnerable to warming water (NOAA Fisheries).
How do Arctic animals survive the cold?
Arctic animals survive with insulation, behaviour and timing. Polar bears, seals, walruses and whales have thick blubber; foxes, hares and muskoxen grow dense winter coats, often white. Ringed seals hide in snow lairs, lemmings live under the snow, and many birds such as Arctic terns simply leave for winter. Read how polar bears beat the cold.
Myths about Arctic animals
Myth: Penguins live in the Arctic.
Fact: Wild penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere. See do polar bears eat penguins?
Myth: Only male caribou have antlers.
Fact: Caribou are the only deer in which both sexes grow antlers (ADF&G).
Test yourself
1. Which Arctic bird has the longest migration?
The Arctic tern, over 80,000 km a year for some birds.
2. What is the polar bear’s main prey?
Ringed and bearded seals.
3. Which Arctic plant-eater has wool called qiviut?
The muskox.
Where to next?
➡️ Go wider: browse all our animals⬆️ Go deeper: the Arctic food web explained🔀 Go sideways: penguins, the cold-climate birds of the far south
Frequently asked questions
What is the biggest animal in the Arctic?
Of the animals in this list, the walrus is the heaviest: adult males can weigh up to about 2 tonnes, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Male narwhals reach up to about 1,600 kg (3,527 lb), and belugas average about 1,430 kg (3,150 lb), says NOAA Fisheries. Large whales that visit Arctic seas are bigger still.
Do polar bears and penguins live together?
No. Polar bears live in the Arctic, at the top of the world, while wild penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere, mostly around Antarctica. They never meet in the wild.
What animals live in the Arctic tundra?
Tundra animals include Arctic foxes, Arctic hares, lemmings, caribou, muskoxen, wolves and, in summer, many nesting birds such as snowy owls and Arctic terns.
Sources
- Polar Bears International. Polar bear diet.
- Wiig, Ø. et al. (2015). Ursus maritimus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T22823A14871490.
- Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Arctic fox; Walrus; Caribou; Muskox.
- NOAA Fisheries. Ringed seal; Beluga whale; Narwhal.
- NOAA Fisheries (2015). Arctic cod spawned and hatched in captivity.
- Animal Diversity Web. Lepus arcticus.
- Gilg, O., Hanski, I. and Sittler, B. (2003). Cyclic dynamics in a simple vertebrate predator-prey community. Science 302: 866-868.
- National Audubon Society. Snowy owl; Arctic tern.
- Egevang, C. et al. (2010). Tracking of Arctic terns Sterna paradisaea reveals longest animal migration. PNAS 107: 2078-2081.
Sources checked 12 October 2026.
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