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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteAntarctica’s most familiar wildlife depends on the sea, shorelines and pack ice—not just dry land. Penguins, seals, whales and seabirds share a food web supported in part by tiny Antarctic krill, while a handful of small invertebrates live on land. Here are ten remarkable examples, including animals that visit or forage in Antarctic waters rather than living year-round on the continent.
What kinds of animals live in Antarctica?
Antarctic wildlife is mostly marine or ice-associated. The British Antarctic Territory notes that there are no terrestrial mammals or trees in the territory, but its surrounding waters support a much richer range of wildlife. Land life does exist: it includes small invertebrates, not large mammals. The list below reflects that difference and is not a ranking or a claim that every species lives on dry land.
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Penguins are only part of the picture. The Australian Antarctic Program says 18 penguin species exist, five of which live in Antarctica; other penguins are associated mainly with sub-Antarctic islands. Six seal species live in Antarctic waters, and the Southern Ocean is also used by many whales and seabirds.
10 incredible animals associated with Antarctica
1. Emperor penguin
The emperor penguin is the largest penguin species, and its breeding calendar is extraordinary: it breeds during the Antarctic winter. The Australian Antarctic Program describes emperor penguins as breeding “during the worst weather conditions on earth.” Unlike many birds, they raise their young through the continent’s coldest, darkest season.
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2. Adélie penguin
Adélie penguins breed along the Antarctic coast. They spend winter at sea and return to their breeding colonies in summer, according to the Australian Government’s State of the Environment report. That seasonal movement makes them a useful reminder that Antarctic wildlife can depend on both coastal nesting grounds and the surrounding ocean.
3. Leopard seal
The leopard seal is a solitary predator often associated with pack ice. Penguins are among its prey, but they are not its only food: documented prey includes fish, squid, crustaceans and pups of other seals. Its teeth also help it strain krill, so this seal occupies more than one place in the food web.
4. Weddell seal
Weddell seals are closely linked to nearshore fast ice—sea ice attached to the coast or seabed. They breed on this ice around the continent, according to the Australian Government’s State of the Environment report. Their use of nearshore ice sets them apart from seals that spend more time among drifting pack ice.
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5. Crabeater seal
The crabeater seal’s name is misleading: Antarctic krill, not crabs, can make up as much as 90% of its diet, according to the 2021 Australian State of the Environment report. This is a striking example of how a small crustacean can sustain a large marine mammal. Historical crabeater seal population estimates vary widely, however, and older totals were likely too high; they should not be treated as a settled current count.
6. Killer whale (orca)
Antarctic orcas are coordinated predators with a broad documented menu. The Australian Antarctic Program lists fish, squid, Adélie and emperor penguins, Weddell, crabeater and leopard seals, and baleen whales among their prey. The program gives an estimate of about 70,000 orcas in Antarctic waters; this is its estimate, not a newly reported census. It also notes rare winter sightings deep in the pack ice.
7. Antarctic krill
Antarctic krill are small crustaceans, but their abundance and movement matter to animals higher in the food web, including penguins and seals. NOAA Fisheries describes research that tracks krill location and abundance while measuring ocean temperature and salinity to understand how ocean change may affect krill populations. Krill are a food source, not just a footnote to the larger animals that eat them.
8. Blue whale
The blue whale is a dramatic contrast to krill: the Australian Antarctic Program calls it the largest animal known to have lived on Earth. Blue whales forage in the Southern Ocean, but they should not be described as permanent residents of the Antarctic continent. The Australian Government’s 2021 State of the Environment report says more than 30 whale species forage in the Southern Ocean.
9. Antarctic petrel
The Antarctic petrel is a seabird associated with Antarctic coasts and waters, and is listed among birds using the British Antarctic Territory. It adds another kind of bird to a list often dominated by penguins. Its presence in the region does not mean that every population breeds on the continent.
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10. Antarctic midge
The flightless Antarctic midge, Belgica antarctica, is a land-dwelling insect endemic to the Antarctic Peninsula and South Shetland Islands, according to the British Antarctic Territory. It is a small but important correction to the idea that Antarctica has no terrestrial animals: the continent’s land fauna is limited, but not absent.
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Many of the animals on this list connect through marine food webs. Krill are eaten by animals such as crabeater seals and can form part of a leopard seal’s diet; penguins, fish and seals are among the documented prey of orcas. The animals also depend on different parts of the environment: emperor penguins breed in winter, Adélie penguins return to coastal colonies in summer, and Weddell seals breed on nearshore fast ice.
Population figures are not equally well established for every species. The Australian Government’s 2021 State of the Environment report highlights limits in long-term monitoring and notes that the last circumpolar estimates for pack-ice seals came from a survey in the late 1990s. For that reason, a neat current population ranking would overstate what is known.
Quick Recap
Sources
- Australian Antarctic Program: Antarctic animals
- Australian Antarctic Program: Penguins
- Australian Government: State of the Environment 2021, Antarctic wildlife
- Australian Antarctic Program: Seals
- Australian Antarctic Program: Leopard seals
- Australian Antarctic Program: Whales
- NOAA Fisheries: Tracking Antarctic krill
- British Antarctic Territory: Wildlife
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