Arctic vs Antarctic wildlife: who lives where?

The Arctic and Antarctica have plenty in common — namely, both regions are vast, cold, and best accessed by small ships. (Oddly enough, we've got those handy!) But while these polar places share cold temperatures, Arctic wildlife varies drastically from the animals you'll find in the Antarctic. If your heart is set on spying polar bears, you gotta go north. If you're leaning toward leopard seals, your ship best be sailing in a southerly direction.

Naturally, it's called wildlife for a reason and there are no guarantees but it pays to know who lives where and which trips give you the best chance of sightings. To help narrow it down, here's info on ten Antarctic and Arctic animals that top many traveller's wishlists.

Arctic animals

Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)

Size: 1.6 to 2.1m (5 to 6.9 ft) tall, 65 to 210kg (143 to 463 lbs)

Population: est 2,100,000

Habitat: These migratory beasts range between 50 and 81 degrees of latitude throughout Canada, the northwestern United States, Greenland, Norway, Finland, Russia, and Mongolia.

Conservation status: Vulnerable. Though there are still plenty of reindeer roaming the Arctic, populations have declined sharply in recent years, which has conservationists concerned.

Did you know: Though reindeer and caribou look different (reindeer tend to be smaller, for one thing), they’re from the same species. North American populations of rangifer tarandus are called caribou, European ones are reindeer, and none of them can fly (as far we know).

Look for reindeer on: Realm of the Polar Bear in Depth

Polar bear (Ursus maritimus)

Size: 2 to 3m (6.6 to 9.8 ft) tall, 352 to 680kg (776 to 1,449 lbs)

Population: est 22,000 – 31,000

Habitat: These apex predators, whose Latin name means “sea bear,” spend most of their life around water and on sea ice in northern Canada, Alaska, Greenland, Norway, and Russia.

Conservation status: Vulnerable. Climate change causes sea ice to melt earlier in the spring and form later in the fall, leaving bears spending more time on land where there’s limited food.

Did you know: 60 to 80 percent of the global polar bear population lives in Canada.

Look for polar bears on: Realm of the Polar Bear

Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus)

Size: 75 to 115cm long, 2.5 to 9kg (6 to 20 lbs)

Population: Several hundred thousand

Habitat: Throughout the Arctic tundra in Canada, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Svalbard, Jan Mayen, and Sweden.

Conservation status: Least Concern

Did you know: Arctic foxes don’t start getting chilly until the temperature hits -50°C (-58°F) thanks to a thick coat (the thickest of any Arctic animal), fur-covered feet (even the soles), and a bushy tail that doubles as an added layer of warmth.

Look for Arctic foxes on: Arctic Highlights

Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas)

Size: 2.6 to 4.5m (8.5 to 14.7 ft), 700 to 1,600kg (1,543 to 3,527 lbs)

Population: 150,000 – 200,000

Habitat: Found throughout the northern seas surrounding Canada, the United States, Greenland, Russia, Svalbard, and the island of Jan Mayen.

Conservation status: Near Threatened

Did you know: Belugas’ distinctive – and flexible! — foreheads are called melons. They can change the shape of their melons at will, allowing them to make facial expressions and communicate with other whales via chirps, clicks, whistles, and squeals.

Snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus)

Size: 0.5m (1.6 ft) tall, with a wingspan of 1.5m (5 ft)

Population: 200,000

Habitat: Snowy owls have an extremely large range that includes Canada, the U.S., Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Russia, China, and Japan — but they have been spotted as far afield as Portugal and Ireland. There was even a rumoured sighting in Bermuda!

Conservation status: Least Concern

Did you know: Unlike most owls, snowy owls are diurnal, or active during the day.

Antarctic animals

Leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx)

Size: 2.8 to 3m (9.1 to 9.8 ft) long, 300 to 500kg (661 to 1,102 lbs)

Population: There’s a lot of uncertainty, since its territory is widespread and remote, but experts estimate a population of up to 220,000.

Habitat: Leopard seals live on and around pack ice throughout the southern hemisphere, from the Antarctic coast to sub-Antarctic islands like Heard, McDonald, and the South Sandwich Islands.

Conservation status: Least Concern

Did you know: Though leopard seals are known for eating penguins, they’ll actually eat just about anything, including squid, fish, and the pups of other seal species.

Look for Leopard seals on: Antarctica Classic

King penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus)

Size: 70 to 100 cm tall (45 in), up to 18kg (21 to 40 lbs)

Population: 2.2 million breeding pairs

Habitat: Second tallest in the penguin world, King penguins are pelagic marine critters meaning they stick close to the shoreline. You'll mainly find their breeding colonies on the more temperate subantarctic islands in the region like South Georgia.

Conservation status: Least Concern. Though the king penguin population is healthy and increasing, experts are noticing that rising ocean temperatures is affecting population distribution to more temperate climes.

Did you know: These elegant beauties are seriously monogamous and much like their Happy Feet cousins, balance their treasured egg on their feet for safekeeping and warmth in frigid conditions. Once born, the chick takes 14-16 months before they'll ever dip their webbed feet in the icy ocean.

Look for King penguins on: Spirit of Shackleton

Antarctic minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis)

Size: 9m (29.5 ft) long, 10 tonnes (22,046 lbs)

Population: Several hundred thousand

Habitat: Minkes favour “open pack ice” (when there’s a lot of open water between ice floes) in the summer, and migrate to tropical waters come winter.

Conservation status: There’s not enough data for an assessment, but the most recent assessment, in 1996, classified these whales as Lower Risk.

Did you know: Minke whales are the smallest of the baleen whales, and the only species of whale that is still commonly found in Antarctica.

Wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans)

Size: 1.1m (3.6 ft) long, 8 to 11.5kg (18 to 25 lbs)

Population: 20,000

Habitat: Wandering albatrosses live up to their name with a territory that spans from Antarctica to Namibia.

Conservation status: Vulnerable. Experts believe a drastic population loss of about 4 percent a year is due to fisheries — the birds range so far afield that they encounter many longline fleets, upping their risk of being caught accidentally.

Did you know: The wandering albatross is the largest of the diomedeidae family and has the largest wingspan of any bird (up to 3.5 m or 11 ft). These giant birds spend most of their time flying — they only return to land to breed.

Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba)

Size: About 5cm (2 in) long

Population: The estimated biomass of krill throughout the Antarctic continent is 200 million tonnes

Habitat: Antarctic krill are exclusively found throughout the Southern Ocean, both in the open ocean and in coastal areas.

Conservation status: Least Concern

Did you know: Though they’re tiny — only about the size of your pinky finger — there are so many krill in the Southern Ocean that, at some points during the year, giant schools can be spotted from space.