What Animals Live in the Boreal Forest?
Animals found in boreal forests include reindeer, bison, Arctic foxes, Siberian tigers and grizzly bears. Some indicator species that determine the health of boreal forests are the lynx, elk and snowshoe hare.
The animals that inhabit boreal forests range from cloven-hoofed mammals and rodents to carnivores and marine life. Elk, reindeer, mule deer, musk ox and bighorn sheep are cloven-hoofed animals that all thrive in boreal forests.
Boreal forests are also filled with carnivores that feed on cloven-hoofed animals, such as the tundra wolf, Siberian tiger and amur leopard. The grizzly bear, polar bear and giant panda all live in boreal forests. While polar bears mostly live in the boreal forests of northern North America, grizzlies are found throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Giant pandas live only in China.
Marine animals that live in the waters in and around boreal forests include the walrus, harp seal and humpback whale. The walrus lives in northern waters from Greenland to Bearing Sea, occupying some of the same waters as the humpback whale. The harp seal lives in the north Atlantic and Arctic Oceans.
Boreal forests are characterized by cool temperatures and high levels of snowfall. The winters are generally long and cold interspersed by short, cool summers.
