Tundra Habitats Worksheet: Free Printable for Kids - Free Printable

Let’s go step by step to figure out which plants and animals belong in the tundra habitat.

First, remember what a tundra is:
- It’s very cold, dry, and windy.
- Snow covers the ground for 9 months of the year.
- There are no trees — it’s treeless!
- Only special plants and animals that can survive extreme cold live there.

Now let’s look at each item one by one:

1. Arctic hare – Lives in snowy, cold places like the tundra. ✔ Yes
2. Arctic fox – Has thick white fur to blend in with snow and stay warm. ✔ Yes
3. Parrot – Lives in hot, tropical rainforests. Not cold at all! ✘ No
4. Lemming – Small rodent that lives in Arctic tundras. ✔ Yes
5. Panda – Lives in bamboo forests in China — not cold enough for tundra. ✘ No
6. Penguin – Most penguins live in Antarctica (which is icy, but not technically tundra). Some might be confused, but true tundra penguins? Not really. Also, this looks like an Emperor Penguin — they’re Antarctic, not tundra. ✘ No *(Note: Some educational materials may include them, but strictly speaking, penguins aren’t tundra animals.)*
7. Snowy owl – Lives in Arctic regions, hunts on open tundra. ✔ Yes
8. Moss – Grows in cold, damp places where trees can’t grow — perfect for tundra. ✔ Yes
9. Reindeer – Also called caribou; they roam the tundra and eat moss and lichen. ✔ Yes
10. Palm tree – Needs warm weather and lots of sun — definitely NOT for tundra! ✘ No
11. Arctic poppy – A flower that grows in the tundra during short summers. ✔ Yes
12. Polar bear – Lives on sea ice near the Arctic — often associated with tundra edges. Many worksheets include them as tundra animals. ✔ Yes *(Commonly accepted in school materials even though they’re more coastal/ice-based.)*

Wait — let’s double-check the penguin. In many elementary-level worksheets, penguins are sometimes included incorrectly. But scientifically, penguins don’t live in the tundra biome — they live in Antarctica or southern oceans. The tundra is in the Northern Hemisphere (like Alaska, Canada, Siberia). So we should mark penguin as NO.

Also, polar bears — while they spend time on sea ice, they do come onto land in tundra regions during summer, so most kids’ worksheets accept them as tundra animals. We’ll say YES for this level.

So final list of correct answers (check these boxes):

✔ Arctic hare
✔ Arctic fox
✔ Lemming
✔ Snowy owl
✔ Moss
✔ Reindeer
✔ Arctic poppy
✔ Polar bear

✘ Parrot
✘ Panda
✘ Penguin
✘ Palm tree

Final Answer:
Check the boxes next to: Arctic hare, Arctic fox, Lemming, Snowy owl, Moss, Reindeer, Arctic poppy, and Polar bear.