Taiga Animals

The other name of taiga is Boreal forest that covers the largest area on the earth's biome. Taiga biome stretches out to nearly fifty million acres that covers almost seventeen percent of the land on earth. The climate of the taiga is very cold and harsh. The precipitation rate including snow and rain is very low, and the growing season is very short. The cold climate of this region does not allow the animals to live there for the entire year. So, the animals living there are accustomed to bear the cold climate of that region in the winters, and tolerate the hot weather during the summers. Many animals also choose to migrate from this area during harsh climate, only to return when the climate is tolerable enough for them to survive. This region is crowded with insects and birds during summers. The taiga is home for many plants, animals, birds, and insects. The climate of the taiga is pretty cold and this makes the survival of taiga animals and plants extremely difficult.

Taiga Region Animals

You must have read about various animals across the globe, but when it comes to the animals residing in the region, you would be surprised to know how these animals tend to live and efficiently survive in an environment, which has it all to make it impossible for any living being to survive! Mentioned below is a list of some animals, that can be also referred to as the 'most efficient survivors' on the planet.

Ants Arctic fox Arctic hare Arctic wolf Badger Bald eagle Beaver Black bear Brown bear Canada goose Caribou Dall sheep Deer Earthworms Ermine Fox Gray wolf Great horned owl Husky

Lemming Lynx Moose Musk ox Malamute Muskrat Mosquito Red tailed hawk Reindeer Scorpion Short tailed weasel Snow goose Snow owl Squirrel Weasel White tailed deer Wolf Wolverine Woodland caribou

Adaptation in Taiga Region

Weather Adaptability
Let me tell you some interesting taiga facts about the animals of the taiga. The residents of taiga prepare themselves for the winters by accumulating layers of fat in their body to withstand the chilling winters, and to keep themselves warm and cozy. This characteristic can be seen in the cow moose, which consumes plant shoots and water plants in summers for thinner layer that helps it to keep itself cooler during the high temperature during daytime. In the beginning of spring and approaching winters, they switch over to conifer branches, berries, and wigs for thicker coats to protect themselves from the harsh wind. Some animals like chipmunks, hibernate during winters and maintain their body temperature to avoid freezing of tissues while hibernating. Some animals like snowshoe hare and lynx adapt themselves to the frigid weather of the taiga by growing more hair on the foot pad, or the bottom of their feet to make their walk easier on the snow. This keeps their feet warm and gives them more strength and balance to step on the snow. The heavy weight animals like bison and caribou throw snow instead of walking on it and thus make a way for the other follower animals like wolves and fox. During winters, some animals like voles, mice, lemmings, and shrews live in snow tunnels, that is, under the snow. Now you would be wondering how can they survive under the frozen layer of snow? The heat evolved by the earth evaporates a thin layer of snow that is immediately above the ground, making a natural tunnel like structure under the snow layer. The snow on the tunnel keeps the tunnel warm which gives them a conducive environment to reproduce.

Migration
Many animals even migrate to this land such as woodpecker, cedar waxwings, robins, red-breasted nut-hatches, hermit thrushes, goshawks, ducks, water fowl, golden and ruby crowned kinglet, and geese. Some animals like caribou and wolves move to the northern tundra region during the summers. They come back to taiga with the beginning of winter and fall. They migrate to taiga during this season to avoid the extreme cold and violent winds of tundra.

Reproduction
The animals like red squirrel and wolverine give birth to their young ones in the beginning of March. The other animals like river otters, ermines, minks, and martens prefer to have young ones in the early spring to enjoy the warmth of this season. Some other animals like gray squirrel and red fox have their young ones when the snow fall is over.

But unfortunately, many of the animals have been enlisted as endangered species. These animals include the wood bison, bears, Siberian crane, and tiger. They are endangered species mainly due to their hunting and increasing environmental pollution. The resident taiga animals have the capability to adapt themselves to the changing climate of this land. The animals that are not able to stand the extremes of this weather choose to migrate.