Arctic Fox

Arctic foxes are also sometimes referred to as the polar fox, white fox or snow fox. Arctic fox animals are true animals of the far North, they live their whole lives over the northern tree line in the Arctic tundra. The Arctic fox is chiefly a carnivore that survives inland, away from the coasts. They are dependent on the existence of smaller animals (most commonly lemmings) to survive. Arctic foxes also rummage about fish, seabirds and other marine life. Smaller rodent populations quiver between times of profusion and scarcity, which leaves the Arctic fox endangered when these creatures are low in numbers.

Arctic fox legs are short and stubby, keeping the creature low to the ground and away from the cold Arctic winds. Arctic foxes have small eyes, ears and noses as a complementary caution against the cold.

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Arctic Fox Scientific Facts

Arctic Fox Appearance

Arctic foxes don white colours in winter while during the summer tend to have grey-brown backs, yellowish undersides, and brown bellies with white spots. Nearly 3% of Arctic foxes are charcoal-coloured throughout the year and are called “blue foxes”, though this might be as high as 10% in Svalbard. This kind was specifically valuable to historic trappers. In addition its

Average Length: 2.3-3.5 feet long including a tail of around 12 inches, 9-12 inches tall at the shoulder, while females slightly smaller than males

Average Weight: Arctic fox weighs 3 to 8kg (6.5-17 lbs)

Arctic Fox Features

Arctic foxes have a very keen sense of hearing. Though small, the ears of the arctic are pointed forwards and so are very directional. They can hear their primary prey, lemmings, moving across tunnels they make in the snow enabling the fox to pounce on the area where the sound is coming from without requiring to see the prey and with the prey unfamiliar that the fox is about to pounce.

Arctic Fox Built

Arctic foxes reside on the land and sea ice surrounded by the Arctic Circle. Winter in the Arctic is different from winter in most parts of the world. From October to February, the sun never rises to shine light and warmth.

Luckily, arctic fox adaptations are amongst some useful adaptations for surviving in the icy Arctic. They sport a thick fur coat which keeps the fox’s body at a toasty 104°F. Their long, fluffy tails act as a blanket, keeping the fox warm when it envelops the tail around its body to sleep.

Their feet also contain a layer of thick fur, like built-in snow boots. This enables the muffling of an arctic fox’s footsteps, making it difficult for prey to hear them. And their white coats make it harder for predators such as wolves, polar bears, and golden eagles to detect them among the ice and snow.

Arctic Fox Finding Food

When an arctic fox is trying to keep warm or evade predators, it is on the hunt for food. They prefer munching on small rodents called lemmings, but when times are tough they’ll feed with whatever they can find: insects, berries, and even the excreta of other animals. Sometimes it will follow a polar bear on a hunting vacation and eat the bear’s leftovers.

If an arctic fox can’t find food, or if the weather gets really unpleasant, it can dig a snow den and scrunch for up to two weeks. As long as it is warm, it can contract its heart rate similar to how bears hibernate, but for a shorter span of time.

Once the animal appears from its den, it’ll try to hunt again. With food in its belly, the fox has a better opportunity of making it through another long, dark winter.

Breeding Season

Arctic foxes form monogamous pairs across a breeding season beginning from April to May though often some females will live together in a huge and complex shelter that can be many years old, even centuries. Essentially, they consist of litters of 5 to 8 but maybe as many as 25, the most of any carnivore. At times young non-breeding foxes will live in the den also and participate to raise the pups from the next year.

Estimated World Population of Arctic Fox

Several hundred thousand, wide fluctuations as an outcome of wavering prey numbers and a quick ability to reproduce.

Conservation Status Of Arctic Fox Animal- Least concern.

Arctic Fox Habitat And Distribution

The Arctic Fox lives its entire life above the northern tree line in the Arctic tundra. It has paved its way to most Arctic islands and is the only mammal indigenous to Iceland. It may be found on the sea-ice in winter as it stretches out to its foraging range. The southern limit of the arctic fox is partially dominated by the presence of red foxes which out-compete arctic foxes in regions where tundra turns to trees and shrubs.

Arctic Fox Predators

Wolverines, polar bears, red foxes and golden eagles. They have been and remain to be trapped for their thick winter coats specifically.

Arctic Fox Adaptations

Arctic Foxes live in some of the coldest places on earth which is no mean masterstroke for such a relatively small animal, they have a variety of anatomical, physiological and behavioural adaptations that enable them to do this successfully.

In comparison to other species of fox, arctic foxes have proportionally shorter necks, shorter legs, and smaller ears. Relatively low surface area to volume ratio means that there is less surface area to lose heat from in contrast to more slender southern foxes.

The thick camouflaged seasonal fur coat of the fox is always thick and extremely insulating. They develop two rather different versions throughout a year, however. The summer coat is thinner and dark grey to a brown, the colour enabling it to be masked against the darker background of rock and vegetation when the ice and snow of winter have melted. The opulent winter coat is quite thick making the fox appear more rounded and is white thus camouflaging it against a frozen background.

Thick fur on the tail acts to offer extra insulation when it is required. When the arctic fox is active and producing heat it is out of the way, while when the fox hunkers down to sleep or to keep warm in extreme cold, the tail fur can set in motion for extra wrap-around insulation.

Thick fur on the paws in order to insulate them from ice and snow and also renders for grip on slippery surfaces. The thick layer of body fat for insulation and food storage to allow survival in the winter when food supply may be irregular.

The propensity heat exchanger in the paws along with many other animals including domestic dogs, there is a power source in the paws of foxes keeps them at a lower temperature than the body core thus reducing heat loss through this extremity that is in contact with the ground. Blood-making way to the paws is used to heat up blood that is leaving which prevents the core from being cooled by heat loss at the extremities. Alike mechanisms are also found in the feet of birds such as penguins and ducks.

Den Arctic Fox

Shelter in burrows, arctic fox delve into the snow during blizzards and extremely cold weather. A relatively rapid and easy way of averting the worst of the weather is by tunnelling underneath the snow to evade the biting wind and obtain extra insulation from the snow. While the temperature in the snow hole is still below freezing, it can be much greater than outside the snow hole.

Baby Arctic Fox  

Large litter sizes in years with high prey populations of arctic foxes is tied very closely to the population size of its prey which comprises largely of lemmings. Lemmings can breed quite rapidly in pleasant conditions though are short-lived; the capability of the arctic fox to keep up with their reproductive rate to some extent provides them with the capability to reap the benefit of productive years before it is too late. Essentially an arctic fox will have between 6 and 9 pups but have been documented as high as 25, the most for any carnivore.

Arctic Fox Facts

Following are the fascinating Arctic foxes facts:-

• Arctic foxes are the smallest member of the canid family. They are found in the Canadian wilderness.

• Arctic foxes comprise the warmest animal furs in the world.

• An arctic fox has the ability to smell a sealed den a mile away.

• Arctic foxes can be white, brown, or blueish-grey. The colour is dependent on the time of year.

• Arctic fox dens are utilized for generations—several are as old as 300 years.

• Arctic fox features small ears. That minimizes heat loss since less is exposed to the cold.

• They contain fur on the bottom of their feet, which prevents them from slipping on the ice.

• Arctic foxes are so well-adapted to cope up with the cold, they can withstand temperatures as low as -50 °C (-58 °F) prior to their metabolism prompts to heat their bodies.

• Arctic fox burrows may have dozens of entrances and occasionally house generations of foxes.

There is not a solid Arctic foxes population estimate, though they are thought to be in the number of hundreds of thousands. Their population wave based on the availability of food sources, particularly the lemming population.