Polar Chill

When it is cold outside, humans turn up the heat in their houses, and bundle up in warm jackets, hats, and scarves to venture out. For Arctic mammals, the cold temperatures are unavoidable, and pose a challenge to survival, to which they must adapt. The ultimate outcome of cold weather adaptations are the minimization of heat loss to the environment, and the maximization of heat gained from the environment. There are a variety of cold temperature adaptations that accomplish these ends, many of which are quite complex.