Cute and frisky, Arctic foxes are nomadic animals that follow polar bears onto the ice in search of food throughout the winter. During the summer they form family groups. The mother and father both care for the young and sometimes a female kit from a previous litter joins in to help care for the new pups. In the wild, Arctic foxes only live for 3-4 years, as there are many predators to evade, including eagles, polar bears, wolverines, red foxes and wolves.
If you’ve seen the classic photo of an Arctic fox nosediving into the snow, they aren’t playing, they’re hunting. Their hearing is so good they can hear lemmings moving underneath the snow. They pounce when they get close.
Username: Akkach Published on 2025-01-18 17:54:07 ID NUMBER: 129062
As omnivores, foxes in the Artic eat voles, mice, lemmings, rabbits and other small animals throughout the fall and winter. In the spring, they supplement their diet with nesting birds, and are often seen sneaking around the tundra attempting to steal Canada goose eggs. In summer, they add in insects and berries to their menu. They’ve also been known to catch young lake trout by jumping from the bank into a school of fish in shallow water. In short, they’re opportunists.
Foxes will also eat seal pups, beaver, reptiles, fruits and even garbage. (Hinterland Who’s Who, n.d.). Red foxes stock up, hiding their food in the dirt or snow and marking it with urine. I, for one, am glad we have a freezer and pantry instead.
Did you know that Arctic foxes are ecosystem engineers? A fascinating research project was published in 2016 demonstrating how effective they are at growing gardens around their dens. They may not set out with the intention of having wildflowers and vegetation marking the spot of their homes, but it’s a beautiful development of Nature’s cycle. The tundra maintains minimal and very low-lying vegetation, so you can visibly spot Arctic fox dens by the lushness of the vegetation surrounding them.
The researchers tested the soil throughout the seasons and found that the effects of a fox den increased the nutrients in the soil drastically. In June, extractable phosphorus – a major plant nutrient – was found to be nearly 1200% greater around dens. The natural garden growing is due to the defecation, the remains of foxes’ meals, and urination around the den (Gharajehdaghipour, 2016). The extra fauna helps attract herbivores, like the foxes’ main food source, the lemming.
Cute and frisky, Arctic foxes are nomadic animals that follow polar bears onto the ice in search of food throughout the winter. During the summer they form family groups. The mother and father both care for the young and sometimes a female kit from a previous litter joins in to help care for the new pups. In the wild, Arctic foxes only live for 3-4 years, as there are many predators to evade, including eagles, polar bears, wolverines, red foxes and wolves.
If you’ve seen the classic photo of an Arctic fox nosediving into the snow, they aren’t playing, they’re hunting. Their hearing is so good they can hear lemmings moving underneath the snow. They pounce when they get close.
More elusive in the summer, Arctic foxes come out in their full marshmallow-y glory in the fall. Their grey-brown coats turn a pristine white and they fluff up to the size of a large housecat, with their tail making up one third of their length. Changing colours throughout the year allows them to camouflage themselves, whether predator or prey.
People often wonder how something so small survives the sub-zero temperatures, but Arctic foxes have adapted to their environment surprisingly well. Their small ears, muzzle, and short legs reduce the surface area exposed to the cold. Research has shown it takes temperatures of -70°C or -94°F to even get Arctic foxes to shiver. Now that’s cold! And just in case you’re wondering, polar bears don’t shiver easily either. They normally have a harder time not overheating, thanks to two coats of fur and a thick layer of insulating fat.
The Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small species of fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Arctic tundra biome.[1][8][9][10] It is well adapted to living in cold environments, and is best known for its thick, warm fur that is also used as camouflage. It has a large and very fluffy tail. In the wild, most individuals do not live past their first year but some exceptional ones survive up to 11 years.[11] Its body length ranges from 46 to 68 cm (18 to 27 in), with a generally rounded body shape to minimize the escape of body heat.
Cute and frisky, Arctic foxes are nomadic animals that follow polar bears onto the ice in search of food throughout the winter. During the summer they form family groups. The mother and father both care for the young and sometimes a female kit from a previous litter joins in to help care for the new pups. In the wild, Arctic foxes only live for 3-4 years, as there are many predators to evade, including eagles, polar bears, wolverines, red foxes and wolves.
If you’ve seen the classic photo of an Arctic fox nosediving into the snow, they aren’t playing, they’re hunting. Their hearing is so good they can hear lemmings moving underneath the snow. They pounce when they get close.
Cute and frisky, Arctic foxes are nomadic animals that follow polar bears onto the ice in search of food throughout the winter. During the summer they form family groups. The mother and father both care for the young and sometimes a female kit from a previous litter joins in to help care for the new pups. In the wild, Arctic foxes only live for 3-4 years, as there are many predators to evade, including eagles, polar bears, wolverines, red foxes and wolves.
If you’ve seen the classic photo of an Arctic fox nosediving into the snow, they aren’t playing, they’re hunting. Their hearing is so good they can hear lemmings moving underneath the snow. They pounce when they get close.
