Wintertime, high up north. Glittering frost covers the ground; drifting snowflakes fill the air. It’s a time to rest, save energy and take life slow; for humans, animals and plants. Or is it?
Wintertime in Earth’s northern hemisphere simply means one thing – it’s summer in the southern half of our planet! While long polar nights engulf the extreme north, the south enjoys – or suffers from – sizzling spells of weather.
Imagine: tall grass sways in a summer breeze; enter – a snow-white wallaby. That’s as Christmassy as it gets around here in the eastern part of Tasmania. Even though their optical disguise is far from perfect, these marsupials have no problem surviving. Tasmania is low on wallaby-hunting predators, and so, although the albino wallaby’s snow-white fur stands out against the field of green grass, it can stop for a minute; enjoy the cooling breeze without fear of attack.
Back in the Arctic, surviving Christmas requires special skills. In pursuit of prey to feed its young, a wolverine glides effortlessly over snow and ice – thanks to its long, sharp claws. While in a nearby tree, a grey jay has made its nest in the icy cold. These birds make clever use of local conditions, building their nests facing the southwest to have a better chance of catching the rare rays of the winter sun.
From the Arctic to the tropics all of nature celebrates life on a wild, silent Christmas night.