Animal Dens - Ice and Underground

People live in houses, condos, apartments, farms, tents and huts. Animals also have different types of homes, depending on their species and habitat. In this post, we are going to focus on animals that live in ice and underground dens.

Ice Dens

I bet it's not too hard to think of what animals live in ice dens...Go on, I'll give you a second...

Right! Polar Bears!

Polar bears dig their dens in the fall, where they give birth. While they are in their dens, they care for their young and don't emerge to eat or drink until the spring! The opening to the den often seals over with snow and ice, offering protection to the babies inside and also helping to keep the temperature at 32 degrees, instead of waaaayyyy below zero, like the air outside!

Underground Dens

Many other species besides bears use dens to raise their young. Underground dens are quite common and can be found in species in many different parts of the world. The benefits are similar to the ice dens of the polar bears - protection from predators and temperature regulation - but in most cases, underground dens tend to keep their residents cooler instead of warmer.  In Africa, for example, underground dens provide shade for animals such as jackals, hyenas, and bat eared foxes.  In North America, the same is true for the coyote.

Jackal

 Baby Bat Eared Fox

Hyenas

Coyote

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