The Earth is roughly divided into three climate zones, polar, temperate and tropical.

• The polar zones are the North and South Poles (light and dark blue). It is nearly always very cold in these regions.
• The tropical zones are in the 'middle' of the Earth, around the equator (green). It is nearly always very hot in these areas.
• The temperate zones are the areas between the poles and tropical zones (yellow and brown). They have seasons.

The cheetah and the emperor penguin are good examples of animals that live in the different climate zones. Let us take a look at the life cycles of these animals and see how they are adapted to the environment they live in.