The Arctic Fox is a small fox that lives in the very far north. It is also called the White Fox or the Snow Fox. Since they have lived for so long in the frozen north, they have adapted to the cold in multiple ways. The Arctic Fox has deep, thick fur that changes colors with the season. Most are a bright white in the winter to camouflage with the snow and more brown-gray in the summer. Some have a color variation that makes them a gray-blue color throughout the year. They also have thick fur on their paws to insulate themselves from the cold ground and to provide traction on slick ice. Their fur is even warmer than the polar bear or the Arctic wolf. Their tail has extra-thick fur, too. It helps them with balance, but also provides more warm protection when curled up. They also have a good supply of body fat, and their small efficient shape allows them to keep less of their body exposed to the cold.
During the winter and the spring, families of Arctic foxes tend to stay together, with both the mother and the father helping to care for the young. They have large, elaborate dens that are used for generations, and these sometimes grow to be a complex underground network. Litters can be between 4 and 11 pups. After several months when they've grown up, the females will head off to find their own mate, and males may stay back to help care for the next year's pups. Pups are born with brown fur, and slowly turn a white color as they get older.
What do they eat?
Arctic foxes will eat whatever meat they can find. They have a superb sense of hearing, so they can pinpoint the noise of a lemming deep under the snow. They'll pounce on the point and dig through the snow to catch the lemming. Families can eat dozens of lemmings in a day! They get lemmings most often, but also eat Arctic hare, eggs, and carion, and fish. In the spring, they will also eat the Ringed Seal pups, when the young seal pups are relatively helpless in their small snow dens and are not able to get away. When food is scarce, the foxes will also follow after bigger predators, like polar bears, scavenging off their leftovers, even though sometimes those leftovers include arctic foxes themselves.
Where do they live?
Arctic foxes as a general population are not endangered. They are found across the entire Arctic region, including Russia, Canada, Alaska, and also Scandinavia. However, despite legal protection and conservation, the population in Scandinavia is surprisingly endangered, with an estimate of only about 120 across Norway, Sweden and Finland.
The Arctic fox also exists in Iceland. It is the only native land mammal on the island, having walked across the frozen Arctic ice during the last Ice Age.
Links about Arctic Fox:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_fox
http://www.hww.ca/hww2.asp?id=81
http://library.thinkquest.org/3500/arctic_fox.htm
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/arctic-fox.html
What do they eat?
Arctic foxes will eat whatever meat they can find. They have a superb sense of hearing, so they can pinpoint the noise of a lemming deep under the snow. They'll pounce on the point and dig through the snow to catch the lemming. Families can eat dozens of lemmings in a day! They get lemmings most often, but also eat Arctic hare, eggs, and carion, and fish. In the spring, they will also eat the Ringed Seal pups, when the young seal pups are relatively helpless in their small snow dens and are not able to get away. When food is scarce, the foxes will also follow after bigger predators, like polar bears, scavenging off their leftovers, even though sometimes those leftovers include arctic foxes themselves.
Where do they live?
Arctic foxes as a general population are not endangered. They are found across the entire Arctic region, including Russia, Canada, Alaska, and also Scandinavia. However, despite legal protection and conservation, the population in Scandinavia is surprisingly endangered, with an estimate of only about 120 across Norway, Sweden and Finland.
The Arctic fox also exists in Iceland. It is the only native land mammal on the island, having walked across the frozen Arctic ice during the last Ice Age.
Links about Arctic Fox:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_fox
http://www.hww.ca/hww2.asp?id=81
http://library.thinkquest.org/3500/arctic_fox.htm
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/arctic-fox.html
The fox looks werid. Very different than any of the foxs i have ever seen.
my dad has a stuffed one and they are really cool
the coat changes are so cool. there is an amazing color difference in their summer and winter coats.