HABITATS

FACT ONE: Grizzly bears and hoary marmots living in the mountains of North America survive the cold winters by hibernating—hiding out in dens and resting—to conserve energy when food is hard to find.

FACT TWO: Mountains often have extreme climates, and the animals that live there have some amazing adaptations. For instance, the red panda in Asia’s Himalaya grows a thick coat. Some animals' fur is more than insulation. Living in the mountains of North America, snowshoe hares have snow-white coats that help them hide from mountain lions and other predators.

FACT THREE: From bottom to top, a mountain has several biomes of life. At the very bottom, foothills often have lush deciduous forests, meaning that the trees lose their leaves in winter. Higher up are coniferous forests with tall pines and other evergreen trees.

FACT FOUR: Most plants can’t thrive at the top of some superhigh mountains—such as Mount Everest and Mont Blanc in the Alps in Europe. There, all you have is just snow-covered rocks.