Arctic Fox (Alopex lagopus)

                 

Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family:    Canidae
Size:    Length 2 to 3 ft (0.6 to 0.9 m)
Weight: 8 to 20 lbs (3.6 to 9 kg)
Diet: Berries, seaweed, insects, birds, eggs, fish, seal placentas, small mammals, carrion
Distribution: Arctic regions of North America, Europe, Greenland, and Iceland
Young:  One to two litters per year of 3 to 14 cubs
Animal Predators:  Red fox, wolf, polar bear, wolverine and golden eagle
IUCN Status: No special status
Terms: Offspring are called whelps, kits, pups or cubs
Lifespan:  3 to 10 years

 

Facts/Trivia:

·         Arctic foxes are the only foxes with rounded ears.

·         Greenland’s arctic foxes stay white year round, due to the short summer.

·         Arctic foxes are also sometimes called polar foxes or white foxes.

 

Description

Arctic foxes come in two colours, white and blue, with both colours occurring in the same litter. Both variations adapt their colours to help camouflage them. In winter, the white foxes turn nearly pure white, enabling them to blend in with the snow, and in summer they become brownish-gray. Blue foxes become brownish-blue in winter and dark brown or charcoal-coloured in summer. 

 

Habitat

Arctic foxes dwell in the Arctic and alpine tundra areas, especially along the northern coasts of Canada, Russia and Alaska.

 

Feeding Habits

True omnivores, arctic foxes will eat nearly anything. In winter, when food is scarce, arctic foxes will sometimes follow polar bears to eat the leftovers of their kills, coming fairly close to the bears, but still being careful not to be within arm’s reach. When hunting, the fox walks along the top of the snow, listening for prey underneath, and when it detects something, the fox jumps up and down, breaking through the snow with its paws and grabbing the prey with its mouth. 

 

Reproduction

Mating usually occurs from March to May, with a litter of three to 14 pups being born from June to August. Females giving birth in spring sometimes have a second litter in late summer. Arctic foxes have the largest litter size of all carnivores, with 25 being the largest recorded litter, although up to half the cubs will not live to reach adulthood. The father of the family guards the den or goes out hunting to bring back food to the young. Sometime between three to four weeks after birth, the young foxes start to appear outside the den. Weaning begins at five weeks, with the cubs becoming independent by nine weeks. Some cubs may leave the den at that time, while others stay until early spring before dispersing. 

 

Behaviour

Arctic foxes are monogamous and can be found in communities made up of an adult pair and their young. Male offspring leave the group when they reach maturity, but females will sometimes stay much longer. Around humans, these foxes are quite tame and have been known to venture close enough to take scraps of food from human hands. Arctic foxes do not hibernate during winter. Their fur is very warm and well-insulated, and the soles of their feet are thickly furred, enabling them to walk across snow. Arctic foxes are nomadic, migrating more than 2000 kilometres to reach their summer habitat, usually following the polar bears. They have dens in frost-free ground, and sometimes these dens have been used for centuries by generations of their relatives. The den has many entrances, from four to over 100, leading to a system of tunnels covering 30 square metres. Arctic foxes do not hibernate, but will store food in their den during the summer months in preparation for the lean winter. 

 

Conservation

The population of Arctic foxes in Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Kola Peninsula, is listed as endangered in Norways Red List. At the turn of the 20th century, the population had dropped due to overhunting, as their fur was bringing in a very high price, and the population has not increased in the last 100 years. A subspecies of Arctic fox, Alopex lagopus semenovi, which is found on Mednyi Island (Commander Islands, Russia) is also considered endangered. The population was reduced to around 90 animals as a result of mange caused by ear ticks. The population was treated with antiparasitic drugs and numbers have increased from less than 50 in 1985 to more than 200 in 1998. 

 

Sources

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/

http://www.zoologi.su.se/research/alopex/the_arctic_fox.htm

http://www.hotcity.com/~vladimir/biology.htm

http://www.environment.no/Topics/polar_areas/wildlife_management/arctic_fox/arctic_fox.stm

Arctic Fox Wildlife Fact File, IM Pub, USA