Antarctica is a place of immense biodiversity. Sadly, many of its species are vulnerable to extinction. Let’s help.
This NATIONAL THREATENED SPECIES DAY we are shedding light on the incredible, albeit at risk, species of Antarctica.
At first glance, Antarctica is a seemingly inhospitable expanse. It is a land of extremes — deemed the coldest, driest, highest and windiest place on Earth. Its continental ice sheet houses 90% of the world’s ice and 80% of its freshwater. Compared to the rest of the world, and because of its hostility and isolation, Antarctica has less terrestrial biodiversity. However, it is rich in marine life — from sing-song humpbacks to cunning leopard seals, wandering albatrosses who may go a year without touching land, and otherworldly creatures, like the icefish, whose glycoproteins work as a kind of antifreeze.
