“The Greenland Shark is my favorite Arctic animal because they can live an astounding 300 to 500 years, making them the longest living vertebrate on earth. They are a fascinating apex predator that eat primarily fish but have also been found to consume entire reindeer!”

Whit Sheard

Director, International Arctic Program

“Ribbon seals have a stunning pattern, which takes more than four years to develop. There are only three populations of ribbons seals in the entire world: one in the Bering Sea and two in the sea of Okhotsk.”

Becca Robbins Gisclair

Senior Director, Arctic Programs

“I had to throw in my own favorite Arctic animal to get some invertebrate representation. Gorgonocephalus arcticus, a type of brittle star that lives deep on the Arctic seafloor, is my favorite because of their out-of-this-world -appearance.

They have five arms that repeatedly branch into smaller and smaller subdivisions, giving them a medusa-like appearance. In fact, their name means “dreaded head” in Greek and refers to Medusa and her two sisters, whose hair was made of living snakes.”

Sarah Bobbe

Arctic Program Manager