Survival of Life Forms in Taiga

The taiga is a home to a number of large herbivorous mammals, such as moose and reindeer/caribou. There is also a range of rodent species, including beaver, squirrel, mountain hare, snowshoe hare and vole. Some of the larger mammals, such as bears, eat heartily during the summer in order to gain weight, and then go into hibernation during the winter. Other animals have adapted layers of fur or feathers to insulate them from the cold.


More than 300 species of birds have their nesting grounds in the taiga. This includes Siberian Thrush, White-throated Sparrow and Black-throated Green Warbler; migrate to this habitat to take advantage of the long summer days and abundance of insects found around the numerous bogs and lakes. Of the 300 species of birds that summer in taiga, only 30 stay for the winter. These are either carrion-feeding or large raptors that can take live mammal prey, including Golden Eagle, Rough-legged Buzzard, and Raven, or else seed eating birds, including several species of grouse and crossbills.

1. Flora

Due to the harsh environmental conditions, not many plants can survive in the taiga biome. The common plants found in taiga are coniferous trees or evergreen with long, thin and waxy leaves. The needle-shaped leaves reduce water loss and protect from weighing down by snow. These plants grow very close to each other, as an adaptation to protect from the cold snow and wind. Other than these plants, lichens and mosses are also found in the taiga biome.

•  Balsam fir

It is a medium-sized conifer that grows up to the height of 80 feet. The leaves are dark green above and white below, short, flat with a distinct curve and rounded at the tip. The barks of balsam tree are smooth and gray in color and source of food for deer, moose and squirrels.

• Jack pine

The jack pine tree grows to about 27 meters tall and the base almost similar to the height. Young jack pine has reddish colored barks, whereas an older tree has gray barks, branches are long, slender that bears needle leaves. Leaves and pinecones of jack pine are a source of food for the rodent.

The leaves are sharp, bark is rough, thick and gray-brown in color and pinecones are major source of food.

In addition, other deciduous trees found in the taiga biome include birch, alder and aspen. Majority of taiga plants are adapted with thick barks.

   2. Fauna

Similar to the plants, the animals that can adapt to long winter and moderate simmer seasons are found in the taiga biome. Taiga animals have thick furs and other special adaptations. Most of them migrate to nearby areas during the snowfalls and food scarcity. Following are some common animals found in the taiga biome.

•  Long-eared owl

Long-eared owl is medium-sized and measures to about 35 cm in length. Interestingly, one ear is about half times bigger than the other. This is an adaptation to hunt better in the dark conditions. Despite the name, this owl does not have long ears; rather it has long feathers in the head portion that appears like ears.

• Snowshoe rabbit

Snowshoe rabbit is named so, as the toes can spread out resembling like a snowshoe. The coat color is grayish brown in summer that turns into snow white during the winter, which helps them to protect from the predators such as wolf and lynx.

•  Gray wolf

It is the biggest canine. Gray wolf has rough and woolly fur coat that may be white, gray, brown or black in color that provides insulation during the cold winter seasons. The long legs and large paws help them to travel in the areas covered with thick snow and a sharp hearing and smelling sense with reflective retina. They hunt in groups and feed on moose, deer, caribou and other weak animals.